Exposure and Risk Assessment of Second- and Third-Hand Tobacco Smoke Using Urinary Cotinine Levels in South Korea

Jiyeon Yang, Shervin Hashemi, Wonseok Han, Yoojin Song and Youngwook Lim
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Jiyeon Yang: Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
Shervin Hashemi: Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
Wonseok Han: Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Yoojin Song: Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Youngwook Lim: Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is the reason for approximately 1% of global mortality. ETS exposure can happen either as inhalation of direct cigarette smoke (second-hand smoke) or its associated residue particles (third-hand smoke), especially when living with a smoker in the same family. This study investigated the association between the urinary cotinine levels, as biomarkers of exposure to tobacco smoke, of smokers and those exposed to second-hand and third-hand smoke while living in the same family, through a Korean nationwide survey. Direct assessment of ETS exposure and its lifetime effect on human health is practically difficult. Therefore, this study evaluated the internal estimated daily intake (I-EDI) of nicotine and equivalent smoked cigarette per day (CPD). The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic inhalation risks of ETS exposure were assessed by considering the calculated equivalent CPD and composition of cigarette smoke of high-selling cigarette brands in South Korea. The results show that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the cotinine levels of smokers and those of the non-smokers living in the same family. The risk assessment results yielded that hazard index (HI) and total excess lifetime cancer risk (ECR) for both second-hand and third-hand smoke exposure can exceed 1 and 1 × 10 −6 , respectively, especially in women and children. In the composition of the cigarette smoke, 1,3-butadiene and acrolein substances had the highest contribution to HI and ECR. Consequently, the provision of appropriate plans for smoking cessation as a strategy for the prevention of ETS exposure to women and children is deemed necessary.

Keywords: cotinine; environmental tobacco smoke; excess lifetime cancer risk; hazard index; second-hand smoke; third-hand smoke (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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