Carcinogenic Pesticides Found In Second Hand Smoke

American Chemical Society journal, Analytical Chemistry has published their findings that three pesticides used in tobacco farming have been found in a large sampling of experimental and commercial smoke tests. The three pesticides, flumetralin, pendimethalin and trifluralin, all affect the endocrine system and are known carcinogenics. None of these pesticides have been previously reported in smoking or in passive smoke in current US tobacco. Researcher Kent Voorhees explains that "no data exists for long-term low-level inhalation exposures to these compounds and no data exists to establish the possible synergistic effect of these pesticides with each other, or with the other 4,700-plus compounds that have been identified in tobacco smoke."