Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the residue left behind by secondhand smoke (SHS) that accumulates in indoor environments. THS chemicals can persist long after smoking has ceased and can re-emit semivolatile compounds back into the air. Measuring tobacco smoke pollution in real-world field setting can be technically complex, expensive, and intrusive. This study placed pillows in homes of former smokers and examined how much nicotine adsorbed to them over a three-week period. Organic cotton pillows were placed in the homes of 8 former smokers following the first week after verified smoking cessation until the fourth week. For comparison, pillows were also placed in 4 homes of nonsmokers. Nicotine concentrations were determined in the pillow case, fabric, and cotton filling, using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Cotton pillows placed in homes of former smokers absorbed on average 21.5 μg of nicotine. Nicotine concentration per gram of material significantly differed between pillow components (p < 0.001) and was highest for the pillow case (257 ng/g), followed by the pillow fabric (97 ng/g), and the pillow filling (17 ng/g). Nicotine levels in pillows placed in nonsmokers’ homes did not differ from laboratory blanks (p > 0.40), or between pillow components (p > 0.40). In the absence of any smoking activity, cotton pillows absorbed significant amounts of nicotine emitted from THS reservoirs in the homes of former smokers. Given the much higher concentrations of SHS in the homes of active smokers, fabrics found throughout the home of a smoker are likely to store a substantial mass of tobacco smoke toxicants. Cotton pillows present a novel method that could be of interest to researchers requiring robust and unobtrusive methods to examine tobacco smoke pollution in real-world field settings.

二手烟（THS）是残留在室内环境中的二手烟（SHS）留下的残留物。吸烟停止后，THS化学物质可以持续很长时间，并且可以将半挥发性化合物重新排放到空气中。在现实的现场环境中测量烟草烟雾污染在技术上可能很复杂，昂贵且具有侵入性。这项研究在前吸烟者的房屋中放置了枕头，并检查了三周内有多少尼古丁吸附在他们身上。在确认戒烟后的第一个星期后，有机棉枕头被放置在8位曾经吸烟者的家中，直到第四周为止。为了比较，枕头也被放置在4个不吸烟者的家中。使用同位素稀释液相色谱串联质谱法测定枕套，织物和棉填充物中尼古丁的浓度。放置在曾经吸烟者家中的棉枕头平均吸收21.5μg尼古丁。枕头成分之间每克物质的尼古丁浓度存在显着差异（p <0.001），枕头套最高（257 ng / g），其次是枕头织物（97 ng / g）和枕头填充（17 ng / g）。 G）。放置在不吸烟者家中的枕头中的尼古丁含量与实验室空白（p> 0.40）或枕头成分之间（p> 0.40）没有差异。在没有任何吸烟活动的情况下，棉枕头吸收了从前吸烟者家中的THS水库中释放出的大量尼古丁。鉴于活跃吸烟者家中SHS的浓度高得多，在整个吸烟者家中发现的织物很可能会储存大量的烟草烟雾中的有毒物质。