Firsthand smoke includes the fumes tobacco users inhale. Secondhand smoke is exhaled smoke, plus substances emanating from burning tobacco. Thirdhand smoke is secondhand smoke that lingers invisibly after the smoker is gone. It also can accumulate on the surface of objects; it ages over time; and it becomes progressively more toxic.

A new study, reported by STAT, finds that smokers who enter nonsmoking venues, from movie theaters and restaurants to rental cars, are capable of bringing in a large amount of cigarette residue that can affect air quality for extended periods.

Researchers assessed the air quality of theaters and noted a spike in the concentration of chemicals found in cigarette smoke after moviegoers sat down for screenings. The scientists found the gas emissions were akin to being exposed to secondhand smoke from 1 to 10 cigarettes for an hour, and nicotine was the most abundant substance they found.

Get Me That, Stat!

Stricter opioid prescription laws appear to curb opioid misuse. In July 2018, Florida enacted a law limiting non-chronic pain opioid prescriptions to a three-day supply, which could be extended to one week for exceptions.

Looking at data from January 2015 to March 2019, researchers found the rate of new patients prescribed opioids dropped from 5.5 per 100,000 people per month before the new law to 4.6 per 100,000 people per month after. The average prescription length declined a full day to 4.2 days.

Counts

1 in 7: Ratio of children in the U.S. who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or another learning disability.

28: Estimated number of nurses worldwide, in millions.

6: Estimated number of additional nurses needed to meet worldwide demand, in millions.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization

Stories for the Waiting Room

Binge drinking is bad. It boosts the odds of fetal alcohol syndrome, violence and many diseases, from ulcers and pancreatitis to multiple types of cancer. In a CDC survey, more than three-quarters of doctors said they ask patients about their alcohol habits, but less than half ask about binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on an occasion for men and four or more for women.

Doc Talk

Clinic unit: A subtle indication of weight. One clinic unit equals 200 pounds. A patient weighing 1.5 clinic units is roughly 300 pounds.

Mania of the Week

Klazomania: compulsive shouting.

Best Medicine

"A psychiatrist is a man who asks you a lot of expensive questions that your wife asks you for nothing." — Sam Bardell

Hypochondriac's Guide

Laughter is good medicine. Too much laughter may cause laugh syncope, a rare condition characterized by a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone due to inadequate blood flow to the brain. In other words, one laughs so hard and long, he or she faints.

Medical History

This week in 1972, Lewis R. Toppel patented a pseudo-cigarette package that simulated coughing sounds when it was picked up. The idea was to discourage smokers from lighting up.

Sum Body

Ten historical, if ineffective, ways to cure baldness:

1. Egyptians applied a mix of fat taken from hippos, crocodiles, cats, snakes and ibexes, a kind of mountain goat.

2. Hippocrates swore by a mixture of opium, horseradish, pigeon droppings, beet root and spices.

3. Aristotle preferred goat urine.

4. Roman gentry used a concoction of ground-up mice, horse teeth and bear grease.

5. Vikings used goose poop.

6. Celtic druids applied a poultice of cremated raven ashes and sheep suet.

7. Eighth-century Chinese blend: safflower oil, rosemary, herbs with mashed animal testes.

8. Indians thought doing headstands helped.

9. Native Americans thought a mix of chicken dung or cow manure worked, or alternatively, aloe vera juice or eating kelp and horseradish.

10. Emile Coue, a 19th-century French psychologist, advocated autosuggestion: Wishful thinking would encourage hair follicles to grow again.

Last Words

"Don't cry for me, for I go to where music is born." — German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) to his wife, on his deathbed.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Russell_Clark at Pixabay