Extinguished cigarettes continue to allocate a large amount of harmful substances

About the dangers of Smoking everyone knows. It is dangerous for both active and passive smokers. Recently, the same researchers found that cigarettes emit toxic substances not only while burning. A new study showed that extinguished cigarette butts continue to emit harmful compounds into the air even after a few days.

According to the researchers, only for the first 24 hours cigarette butt allocates up to 14% of the volume of nicotine that is released into the air when the cigarette is burning.

to measure concentrations of harmful substances emitted by cigarettes, researchers from the United States put 2100 a recently extinguished cigarette in a stainless steel chamber (“smoked” this amount is a special robot who was doing a six puffs each cigarettes). The installation has allowed scientists to create the conditions both indoors and regulate temperature, humidity, speed of its circulation and filing.

a Team of researchers measured the concentration of eight chemical substances, which usually contribute cigarette: furfural, styrene, ethylbenzene, cyclopentadiene, limonene, naphthalene, triacetin and nicotine. Four of them are the FDA food and drug administration (FDA) considers to be harmful or potentially harmful to health.

the researchers measured the emissions of harmful substances into the air, changing the temperature in the range from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, as well as adjusting the humidity and air flow in the chamber. It turned out that when the temperature was higher, cigarette butts isolated chemicals with greater speed. This factor was influenced by the humidity level: seven of the eight chemicals stood out from the extinct cigarettes faster at 50% RH than at 25% relative humidity.

in Other words, left to time neopolitana ashtray can expose smokers and non-smokers of exposure to more harmful chemicals than previously thought.

“lots of nicotine extracted from the cigarette butt for five days, maybe Sopowe put a lot of nicotine present in the main and side stream smoke [when Smoking cigarettes],” notes environmental engineer Dustin, Poppendick (Dustin Poppendieck) from the National Institute of standards and technology USA. This is especially true at higher temperatures [in the room]”.

Explain that tobacco smoke is from cigarettes in the form of the main flow (the smoke inhaled and exhaled by the smoker) and side stream (smoke issued from the end of a burning cigarette). The difference between one and the other substantial. Both mainstream smoke contain the same compounds but in different proportions. For example, sidestream smoke contains twice as much nicotine than basic.

“I was absolutely surprised, says Poppendieck. – These numbers are significant and can have serious consequences in cases where cigarette butts are thrown in the room or in the car. You might think that not Smoking in the car in front of the children, you protect non-smokers or children around you. But if the ashtray in your car is full of cigarette butts, which secrete these chemicals, the impact will still happen.”

we will Add that today, scientists often investigate the health effects from active and passive Smoking. But until now, few people pay close attention to the fact that chemical substances emitted by cigarettes settle on your furniture, fabrics and walls, and car interiors.

the Authors note that the study they used only one well-known brand of cigarettes. However, if the received data is correct, it means that previously considered not all the harm from Smoking.

Today, according to experts, every year the world produces more than five trillion cigarettes, and many of them are not fully absorbed or are not utilized properly. And this, by the way, polluting not only air but soil.

these studies are published in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health and the Science of the Total Environment.

RASthe authors of the project “Conduct.Science” wrote about the fact that used cigarette butts could be rolled into the asphalt, as well as that electronic cigarettes won’t be a perfect way out of the situation, as the nicotine in them increases the risk of heart disease and causes lung disease.

Text: To.Science