14 DAY TRIAL // Combining nicotine and ozone is probably not such a good idea, given that the reaction is responsible for producing minute particles that severely affect the health of asthma sufferers.
In their bid to ensure that their clientele enjoys the best possible conditions, many hotels clean the smell of tobacco from their rooms using ozone sprays.
A new research shows that this may not be the best idea in the world, given that the chemical interactions between the two may lead to the creation of ultrafine particles.
These chemicals endure on surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished in a hotel room, for example. The particles are an important part of third-hand smoking, experts say.
The new conclusions were recently published by a team of researchers at the US Department of Energy's (DOW) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in California.
Experts here say that the nicotine-ozone combination may in fact be more hazardous to asthma patients than being exposed to nicotine from cigarette smoke.
“Our study reveals that nicotine can react with ozone to form secondary organic aerosols that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter and become a source of third-hand smoke,” explains Mohamad Sleiman.
The expert is the leader of the research, and a chemist at the Berkeley Lab Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) Indoor Environment Department.
“Because of their size and high surface area to volume ratio, ultrafine particles have the capacity to carry and deposit potentially harmful organic chemicals deep into the lower respiratory tract where they promote oxidative stress,” Sleiman adds.
“It’s been well established by others that the elderly and the very young are at greatest risk,” he says.
Details of the new investigation appear in a paper entitled “Secondary organic aerosol formation from ozone-initiated reactions with nicotine and secondhand tobacco smoke,” which appears in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal Atmospheric Environment.
“In addition, we need to do further investigations to verify that the formation of ultrafine particles occurs under a range of real world conditions,” adds Sleiman.
“However, given the high levels of nicotine measured indoors when smoking takes place regularly and the significant yield of ultrafine particles formation in our study, our findings suggest new link between asthma and exposure to secondhand and third-hand smoke,” the expert concludes.