Third-hand smoke

The Ontario government’s decision to ban smoking in cars carrying children is looking prescient. The Toronto Star reported in January that a Boston doctor is sounding the alarm over “third-hand smoke,” a term she coined to describe the heavy metals and carcinogens that cling to smokers’ hair, clothing, furniture and other surfaces long after the cigarette has been extinguished. The provincial law, which came into effect in January, was based on a recommendation from the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, of which U of T’s Dept. of Public Health Sciences is a principal sponsor.