‘Thirdhand smoke’: Cigarette fumes have dissipated, but cancer-causing agents remain

Thirdhand smoke threatens the health of vulnerable populations, including babies, and high-exposure groups such as cleaning personnel

Contact: Larissa Puro at (323) 442-7233 or puro@usc.edu; Zen Vuong at (213) 300-1381 or zvuong@usc.edu

WHAT: In honor of “World No Tobacco Day,” on Wednesday, May 31, researchers and policy experts will size up the dangers of “thirdhand smoke,” the toxic residue from cigarette smoke that settles on furniture, clothing, hair and other surfaces. Scientists have found it contains deadly, cancer-causing compounds such as cyanide and arsenic.

Researchers from the California Thirdhand Smoke Consortium will discuss lessons learned from harmful indoor pollutants, including radon, lead and asbestos. At the Quantifying Risks and Developing Policies for Control workshop, experts will explain how the compounds in thirdhand smoke react with other chemicals in the environment, increasing toxicity over time.

WHO:

· Jonathan Samet, Distinguished Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair of the department of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC
· Heather Wipfli, associate director of the USC Institute for Global Health at the Keck School of Medicine
· Anwer Mujeeb, program officer for biomedical and environmental sciences at the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program
· Georg Matt, chair of the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University
· Hugo Destaillats, chemist staff scientist/engineer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
· Lara Gundel, chemist staff scientist/engineer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
· Manuela Martins-Green, professor of cell biology at the University of California, Davis
· Raymond Leung, senior staff attorney at ChangeLab Solutions
· Sharon Eubanks, attorney focusing on civil litigation at Bordas and Bordas Attorneys, PLLC

WHEN: Wednesday, May 31 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:

· 9:15-9:45 a.m.: Thirdhand smoke Q&A
· 9:45-10:45 a.m.: What do we know about the potential risks?
· 1-2 p.m.: Options for controlling thirdhand smoke; lessons learned from radon, lead and asbestos

WHERE: 2001 N. Soto St., Los Angeles, CA 90033 in Soto 1, room 116

PARKING: RSVP to Zen Vuong at (213) 300-1381 or zvuong@usc.edu

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ABOUT THE KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OF USC
Founded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is among the nation’s leaders in innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education, and community service. It is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California’s medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. This includes the Keck Medical Center of USC, composed of the Keck Hospital of USC and the USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The two world-class, USC-owned hospitals are staffed by more than 500 physicians who are faculty at the Keck School. The school today has approximately 1,650 full-time faculty members and voluntary faculty of more than 2,400 physicians. These faculty direct the education of approximately 700 medical students and 1,000 students pursuing graduate and post-graduate degrees. The school trains more than 900 resident physicians in more than 50 specialty or subspecialty programs and is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. Together, the school’s faculty and residents serve more than 1.5 million patients each year at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as USC-affiliated hospitals Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Keck School faculty also conduct research and teach at several research centers and institutes, including the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at USC, the USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, the USC Roski Eye Institute and the USC Institute of Urology.

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck School of Medicine among the Top 40 medical schools in the country.

For more information, go to keck.usc.edu.

Photo by Alex Vodosky