Why Vaping Residue Is The New Secondhand Smoke

New research has found vape residue clings to furniture, car interiors and walls and remains toxic for up to a month, even worse than cigarettes.

It’s easy to tell when you walk into a room or get into a car after someone’s been smoking a cigarette. You can smell it. But while you might be able to smell vape fumes if someone has been vaping recently, that sweet smell wears off a lot faster.

Worrying new research has found the toxic chemicals in vape residue can stay behind for up to a month.

The residue that’s left behind leads to what’s called third hand exposure and the sticky vape fumes can layer up on things like furniture, toys and car interiors. Alarming new research has found it poses an even greater health risk than cigarettes.

Young children, especially in our summers where they’re probably not fully covered up. They have got lots of exposure to surfaces like carpets and sofas they are crawling around. Often they’ll pick things up and put them in their mouth. So they’re the ones that are probably likely to have the highest exposure.

Professor Brian Oliver, Woolcock Institute

To tell us why on today’s episode of The Briefing we’re joined by Professor Brian Oliver from the Woolcock Institute in Sydney. He has been the lead on this research and he discusses what the dangers are for kinds in particular.