First it was worry about second-hand¹ smoke, now there's major concern over third-hand smoke which gets impregnated into hair, clothes, furnishings or a car rather than directly from a cigarette or someone exhaling² it.

刚开始人们担心的是二手烟，但现在越来越多的人担心着三手烟的危害，三手烟残留在头发、衣服、家具或车子里，而不是直接来源于香烟或某人的吞云吐雾中。

To be honest, I've always been worried about the health hazards of this even though I didn't know it had a name. My concern made me reluctant to let smokers³ hold my babies even though they refrained from smoking in my house.

说实话，尽管我不知道它叫三手烟，但我一直都担心它对人们的健康危害。由于这一担忧，我不愿意让吸烟者抱我的孩子，即使他们在我家不吸烟也不行。

Tests for its effects have been carried out on mice, but I don't think they can be ignored, not where babies are concerned. Researchers at California University last month revealed third-hand smoke (THS) could cause type 2 diabetes⁴ , liver and lung damage.

研究员在小鼠身上进行了三手烟测试，但我认为不能忽视三手烟，尤其是当宝宝在场的时候。上个月，加利福尼亚大学的研究人员揭示：三手烟可能会造成2型糖尿病、导致肝肺受损。

They analysed how people are affected⁵ by inhaling⁶ smoke from another person's clothing, hair, home, or car. They say they can see an impact on the brain and liver. Lead author Manuela Martins-Green said: "Our goal was to determine the minimum amount of time required to cause physiological⁷ changes in mice when they are exposed to THS." This was done using an exposure system that mimics⁸ human exposure.

他们分析了人们是如何通过从他人衣物、头发、家或车中吸收残烟而受到影响的。他们表示能看到大脑和肝脏都受到了影响。首席研究员玛鲁娜·马丁斯·格林说道："我们的目标就是：当小鼠处于三手烟环境时，找出导致它们发生生理变化的最短时间。"通过模仿人类处于这种环境的方法，研究员采用一种暴露系统完成了实验。

"We found THS exposure as early as one month resulted in liver damage. Exposure for two months resulted in further molecular⁹ damage, and at four to six months caused even more such damage. We also found the mice showed insulin resistance after long-term exposure."

"我们发现置身三手烟环境一个月就能导致肝脏受损。两个月会导致进一步的分子受损，而四到六个月则会导致更多伤害。我们还发现：长期置于这种环境时，小鼠还表现出抗胰岛素性。"

"THS is a stealth toxin¹⁰, a silent killer. Contaminants can be absorbed through the skin and through breathing."

"三手烟是隐形毒素，是无声的杀手。这种污染物通过皮肤和呼吸就能吸收。"

"Although our research was not done on humans, people should be aware that hotel rooms, cars and homes that were occupied by smokers are very likely to be contaminated with THS." Martins-Green believes most people don't know they're being exposed to THS, or don't believe in the damage it can do.

"尽管我们未对人类进行研究，但大家应该意识到，吸烟者居住的酒店房间、使用的车辆和居住的家都很有可能被三手烟污染。"马丁斯·格林认为：大多数人并不知道自己置身于三手烟中，或不相信三手烟能带来危害。

THS toxins¹¹ remain on surfaces for many years, and resist even strong cleaning agents.

三手烟停留在物体表面的时间长达多年，即使强效洗涤剂也无法将其清除。