Exposing children to tobacco smoke pollution in contaminated homes: When smokers move out and nonsmokers move in

Objectives. We examined whether homes occupied by smokers remain contaminated with environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) pollutants when they move out and nonsmokers move in, and whether children are exposed to residual ETS through contaminated dust, air, and surfaces in these homes. Design. In Part 1, we measured 100 homes occupied by smokers and 50 homes occupied by nonsmokers within one month prior to participants' moving. Participants were interviewed and household dust, air, and surfaces were examined for nicotine concentration. Children's (or youngest residents') urine samples were analyzed for cotinine concentration. For Part 2, the new residents were recruited if they were all nonsmokers, and the same sampling was conducted. Results. Preliminary analyses indicate that mean air, surface, and dust nicotine and children's urine cotinine were higher in smoker homes than nonsmoker homes, confirming previous findings. After the change of occupancy, these differences remained for surface and dust nicotine while differences for air and finger nicotine and children's urine cotinine were not significant with the present sample size. Conclusions. Dust, surfaces, and air in smokers' homes were polluted with residual tobacco smoke, and children living in these homes were exposed to ETS. Residual contamination of smokers' homes declined substantially after the change of occupancy, yet nicotine was still detectable in a majority of homes and contamination remained higher in former smoker homes than former nonsmoker homes. Almost half of nonsmoking occupants of former smoker homes had detectable levels of nicotine on their hands, suggesting a pathway of exposure via surface contamination.