Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.
吸煙的父母常常會(huì)開窗或打開電扇,以此為他們的孩子凈化空氣,不過專家們最近發(fā)現(xiàn)了另一種與香煙有關(guān)的對(duì)兒童健康的威脅,而且更難對(duì)付——三手煙。
That's the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers' hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they're crawling or playing on the floor.
所謂“三手煙”是指房間內(nèi)的“二手煙”清除許久之后,仍殘留在坐墊、地毯甚或吸煙者頭發(fā)和衣物上看不見的氣體和顆粒的有毒混合物。殘留物包含重金屬、致癌物,甚至輻射物質(zhì),它們很容易沾在嬰幼兒的手上并被吃到嘴里,尤其是當(dāng)小孩子在地板上爬或玩耍時(shí)。
Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.
在一項(xiàng)針對(duì)這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)對(duì)嬰幼兒危害的新的研究中,波士頓大眾嬰幼兒專科醫(yī)院的醫(yī)生們創(chuàng)造了“三手煙”這個(gè)詞來(lái)形容它們。研究結(jié)果發(fā)表于最近一期的《小兒科》醫(yī)學(xué)期刊上。
"Everyone knows that second-hand smoke is bad, but they don't know about this," said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
研究報(bào)告的第一作者,哈弗大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院的小兒科助理教授喬納森.溫尼考夫說(shuō):“每個(gè)人都知道二手煙有害,但他們卻不知道三手煙的存在!
"When their kids are out of the house, they might smoke. Or they smoke in the car. Or they strap the kid in the car seat in the back and crack the window and smoke, and they think it's okay because the second-hand smoke isn't getting to their kids. We needed a term to describe these tobacco toxins that aren't visible."
“許多父母認(rèn)為,只要孩子們?cè)谖萃,他們就可以吸煙;蛘咴谲嚿蠒r(shí),把孩子放在后座上,打開車窗,也可以吸煙。他們認(rèn)為這樣就沒有問題了,因?yàn)楫吘剐『⒆記]吸到二手煙。而我們需要一個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)來(lái)描述這些看不見的香煙毒素!
The study reported on attitudes toward smoking in 1,500 households across the United States. It found that the vast majority of both smokers and nonsmokers were aware that second-hand smoke is harmful to children. Some 95 percent of nonsmokers and 84 percent of smokers agreed with the statement that "inhaling smoke from a parent's cigarette can harm the health of infants and children".
該研究報(bào)告了全美1500個(gè)家庭對(duì)待吸煙的態(tài)度,發(fā)現(xiàn)絕大多數(shù)受訪者(煙民與非煙民)都明白二手煙損害兒童健康。大約95%的不吸煙者和84%的吸煙者都同意“嬰幼兒吸入父母的二手煙可能致病”的論斷。
But far fewer of those surveyed were aware of the risks of third-hand smoke. Since the term is so new, the researchers asked people if they agreed with the statement that "breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children".
但受訪者中卻很少有人知道三手煙的危害。因?yàn)檫@個(gè)名稱過于新穎,所以調(diào)查者換了種說(shuō)法,提問人們是否同意“昨天有人抽過煙的屋子里的空氣會(huì)對(duì)嬰幼兒產(chǎn)生危害”的論斷。
Only 65 percent of nonsmokers and 43 percent of smokers agreed with that statement, which researchers interpreted as acknowledgement of the risks of third-hand smoke.
只有65%的非煙民和43%的煙民認(rèn)同該說(shuō)法。研究者以此作為公眾承認(rèn)三手煙危害的證據(jù)。