ABSTRACT
Most of the constituents in smoke are potentially toxic to lung tissues. Blood carboxyhemoglobin levels and serum or salivary thiocyanate levels have been used as a marker of exposure to passive smoke. For passive smoking, exposure may be characterized in terms of smoke concentration. Studied infants and showed a direct relationship between eotinine excretion by the infants and the self-reported smoking behavior of the mothers during the previous day. Although highly variable, passive smoke includes many of the same constituents as the smoke entering the active smoker's lungs. In the case of cigarette smoke, the aerosol includes ambient air as well as the gases, liquids, and solids produced during tobacco combustion. To predict the deposition patterns of any aerosol, such as passive cigarette smoke, it is necessary to know the size, shape, and density of the individual particles or droplets.
