Science, policy and the rise of 'thirdhand smoke' as a public health issue

TY - JOUR

T1 - Science, policy and the rise of 'thirdhand smoke' as a public health issue

AU - Bell, Kirsten

PY - 2014/2/17

Y1 - 2014/2/17

N2 - 'Thirdhand smoke’, the designated term for the cigarette smoke toxicants that linger on room and car surfaces long after the smoke itself dissipates, is a concept that has gained increasing prominence in tobacco control policy and research over the past six years. In this paper, I track the emergence of thirdhand smoke as a social and scientific concept, conducting a critical analysis of newspaper reports and references to the term in the academic and policy literature. Demonstrating that claims about the health effects of thirdhand smoke occurred in the absence of evidence of harm, I examine the broader sociopolitical conditions that enabled the concept to become meaningful (and useful). I show that some of the concept’s legitimacy came from its presentation as a natural extension of secondhand smoke, and its framing as a particular threat to babies and children. However, I argue that the experiential, embodied dimension of thirdhand smoke itself was crucial to its success.

AB - 'Thirdhand smoke’, the designated term for the cigarette smoke toxicants that linger on room and car surfaces long after the smoke itself dissipates, is a concept that has gained increasing prominence in tobacco control policy and research over the past six years. In this paper, I track the emergence of thirdhand smoke as a social and scientific concept, conducting a critical analysis of newspaper reports and references to the term in the academic and policy literature. Demonstrating that claims about the health effects of thirdhand smoke occurred in the absence of evidence of harm, I examine the broader sociopolitical conditions that enabled the concept to become meaningful (and useful). I show that some of the concept’s legitimacy came from its presentation as a natural extension of secondhand smoke, and its framing as a particular threat to babies and children. However, I argue that the experiential, embodied dimension of thirdhand smoke itself was crucial to its success.

KW - risk

KW - secondhand smoke

KW - Thirdhand smoke

KW - passive smoking

KW - public health

KW - tobacco control

KW - media

U2 - 10.1080/13698575.2014.884214

DO - 10.1080/13698575.2014.884214

M3 - Article

VL - 16

SP - 154

EP - 170

JO - HEALTH RISK & SOCIETY

JF - HEALTH RISK & SOCIETY

SN - 1369-8575

IS - 2

ER -