INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We all know the facts — smoking kills. In fact, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, causing 480 thousand deaths each year.

That adds up to 13 hundred deaths each and every day,

And even if you don’t smoke, secondhand smoke can cause harm to you if you live with a smoker. Now, there’s new evidence that thirdhand smoke can be just as harmful.

Would you let your child do this? Of course not! But if you smoke around your child, or even smoke when your child is not around, you could be harming their health.

Dr. Ashley Merianos, PhD, tobacco researcher at University of Cincinnati, explains, “So, whereas secondhand smoke is inhaling smoke from a lit tobacco product, thirdhand smoke is inhaling, ingesting, or dermally absorbing the secondhand smoke pollutants.”

Thirdhand smoke can be found on furniture, décor, walls, and floors – it can cause cancer and respiratory problems.

Merianos says, “So, thirdhand smoke pollutants can include well-known nicotine as well as, cancer causing chemicals such as tobacco-specific nitrosamines. And so, in our study, we looked at one called NNK, which is the most potent known human carcinogen found in tobacco smoke.”

Merianos found that 50% of children living in homes with a smoker had NNK on their home services and 70% had NNK found in dust throughout their homes.

“We also found that 100% of children had nicotine detected on their surfaces and about 100% had nicotine detected in dust.” Explains Merianos.

These toxins were even found in homes with smoking bans and when people were not allowed to smoke around the children.

Merianos says, “We have found that thirdhand smoke can last in environments for up to years.”

Meaning your child could be exposed and you wouldn’t even know it.

The study also found children living in lower-income households had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on home surfaces. Merianos wants parents and grandparents to be aware that not smoking inside the house is not enough and doesn’t fully protect children from the dangers of the toxic chemicals found in cigarettes.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.