“三手烟”--更可怕的隐形杀手

 Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke。

That's the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic¹ brew² of gases and particles clinging to smokers³' hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand⁴ smoke has cleared from a room. The residue⁵ includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they're crawling or playing on the floor。

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics。

"Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad, but they don't know about this," said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School。

"When their kids are out of the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap⁶ the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and smoke, and they think it's okay because the second-hand smoke isn't getting to their kids. We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins⁷ that aren't visible."

The study reported on attitudes toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were aware that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers agreed with the statement that "inhaling⁸ smoke from a parent's cigarette can harm the health of infants and children"。

But far fewer of those surveyed were aware of the risks of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that "breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children"。

Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that statement, which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke。

吸烟的父母常常会开窗或打开电扇，以此为他们的孩子净化空气，不过专家们最近发现了另一种与香烟有关的对儿童健康的威胁，而且更难对付——三手烟。

所谓“三手烟”是指房间内的“二手烟”清除许久之后，仍残留在坐垫、地毯甚或吸烟者头发和衣物上看不见的气体和颗粒的有毒混合物。残留物包含重金属、致癌物，甚至辐射物质，它们很容易沾在婴幼儿的手上并被吃到嘴里，尤其是当小孩子在地板上爬或玩耍时。

在一项针对这些化学物质对婴幼儿危害的新的研究中，波士顿大众婴幼儿专科医院的医生们创造了“三手烟”这个词来形容它们。研究结果发表于最近一期的《小儿科》医学期刊上。

研究报告的第一作者，哈弗大学医学院的小儿科助理教授乔纳森·温尼考夫说：“每个人都知道二手烟有害，但他们却不知道三手烟的存在。”

“许多父母认为，只要孩子们在屋外，他们就可以吸烟。或者在车上时，把孩子放在后座上，打开车窗，也可以吸烟。他们认为这样就没有问题了，因为毕竟小孩子没吸到二手烟。而我们需要一个术语来描述这些看不见的香烟毒素。”

该研究报告了全美1500个家庭对待吸烟的态度，发现绝大多数受访者(烟民与非烟民)都明白二手烟损害儿童健康。大约95%的不吸烟者和84%的吸烟者都同意“婴幼儿吸入父母的二手烟可能致病”的论断。

但受访者中却很少有人知道三手烟的危害。因为这个名称过于新颖，所以调查者换了种说法，提问人们是否同意“昨天有人抽过烟的屋子里的空气会对婴幼儿产生危害”的论断。

只有65%的非烟民和43%的烟民认同该说法。研究者以此作为公众承认三手烟危害的证据。

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

3 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

4 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

5 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

6 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

7 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网