三手煙是個無形殺手,可被皮膚吸收

First it was worry about second-hand smoke, now there's major concern over third-hand smoke which gets impregnated into hair, clothes, furnishings or a car rather than directly from a cigarette or someone exhaling it.

剛開始人們擔心的是二手菸，但現在越來越多的人擔心着三手煙的危害，三手煙殘留在頭髮、衣服、傢俱或車子裏，而不是直接來源於香菸或某人的吞雲吐霧中。

To be honest, I've always been worried about the health hazards of this even though I didn't know it had a name. My concern made me reluctant to let smokers hold my babies even though they refrained from smoking in my house.

說實話，儘管我不知道它叫三手煙，但我一直都擔心它對人們的健康危害。由於這一擔憂，我不願意讓吸菸者抱我的孩子，即使他們在我家不吸菸也不行。

Tests for its effects have been carried out on mice, but I don't think they can be ignored, not where babies are concerned. Researchers at California University last month revealed third-hand smoke (THS) could cause type 2 diabetes , liver and lung damage.

研究員在小鼠身上進行了三手煙測試，但我認爲不能忽視三手煙，尤其是當寶寶在場的時候。上個月，加利福尼亞大學的研究人員揭示：三手煙可能會造成2型糖尿病、導致肝肺受損。

They analysed how people are affected by inhaling smoke from another person's clothing, hair, home, or car. They say they can see an impact on the brain and liver. Lead author Manuela Martins-Green said: "Our goal was to determine the minimum amount of time required to cause physiological changes in mice when they are exposed to THS." This was done using an exposure system that mimics human exposure.

他們分析了人們是如何通過從他人衣物、頭髮、家或車中吸收殘煙而受到影響的。他們表示能看到大腦和肝臟都受到了影響。首席研究員瑪魯娜·馬丁斯·格林說道："我們的目標就是：當小鼠處於三手煙環境時，找出導致它們發生生理變化的最短時間。"通過模仿人類處於這種環境的方法，研究員採用一種暴露系統完成了實驗。

"We found THS exposure as early as one month resulted in liver damage. Exposure for two months resulted in further molecular damage, and at four to six months caused even more such damage. We also found the mice showed insulin resistance after long-term exposure."

"我們發現置身三手煙環境一個月就能導致肝臟受損。兩個月會導致進一步的分子受損，而四到六個月則會導致更多傷害。我們還發現：長期置於這種環境時，小鼠還表現出抗胰島素性。"

"THS is a stealth toxin, a silent killer. Contaminants can be absorbed through the skin and through breathing."

"三手煙是隱形毒素，是無聲的殺手。這種污染物通過皮膚和呼吸就能吸收。"

"Although our research was not done on humans, people should be aware that hotel rooms, cars and homes that were occupied by smokers are very likely to be contaminated with THS." Martins-Green believes most people don't know they're being exposed to THS, or don't believe in the damage it can do.

"儘管我們未對人類進行研究，但大家應該意識到，吸菸者居住的酒店房間、使用的車輛和居住的家都很有可能被三手煙污染。"馬丁斯·格林認爲：大多數人並不知道自己置身於三手煙中，或不相信三手煙能帶來危害。

THS toxins remain on surfaces for many years, and resist even strong cleaning agents.

三手煙停留在物體表面的時間長達多年，即使強效洗滌劑也無法將其清除。