Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the re-emission of chemical components contained in the second hand smoke that once adsorbed onto solid surfaces such as wallpapers, clothes or human hairs. Some studies reported the potential health effects of THS, which may be controversial, but the unpleasant odor of THS should be problematic. It is necessary to establish an accurate measurement method for THS. In this study, we selected nicotine as a maker compound for THS, and the measurement method of the nicotine emission rate from solid surfaces was developed. The sampler is made of a glass petri-type dish (42 mm inner diameter, and 2 mm height), and a glass filter impregnated with L-ascorbic acid solution was places on a inner side of the sampler as a capturing medium for nicotine in THS. The gas phase nicotine as well as nicotine adsorbed on the suspended particles could be captured onto the glass filter. The sampler is placed on the target surface for the emission measurement, such as wall, ceiling, and clothe for 24 h. The nicotine emitted from the solid surface is diffuse in the sampler and be captured onto the absorbent. The nicotine collected was then quantified by the TD-MS/GC technique. L-ascorbic acid was added to increase the stability of nicotine captured. The detection limit was 0.01 µg. The efficiency of nicotine capture was higher than 90%. The method was applied to several sites, where daily-base smoking takes place; walls of two residence houses, an open-space smoking area. The emission rates of nicotine were determined and it was found that the rate was in the range of 0.5-35 μg m<sup>-2 </sup>h<sup>-1</sup>.

Measurement of nicotine emission rate in thirdhand smoke (THS)

255th National Meeting (2018)

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