Thirdhand Smoke Research Expected To Show Exactly What Was Paid For

In June, VGIF highlighted a hefty $3.75 million Californian fund for coming up with more junk science to throw at tobacco. One particular aim was to further flog the dead horse of thirdhand smoke.

TRDRP Call for Applications

Request for Proposals for TRDRP Initiative on Thirdhand Smoke and Cigarette Butts

The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) announces a Request for Proposals (RFP) to undertake studies on Thirdhand Smoke and Cigarette Butt Waste, under a new initiative.

It's worth reading the whole piece, if you haven't already, as background to the clear agenda behind such awards ... because they've now started doling the money out, as the University of California has found to its delight.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Tobacco-related disease kills more people worldwide than any other single factor. To help address this problem, the University of California, Riverside has received six grants from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP), the most TRDRP grants the campus has received in any year.

The economy may be screwed in California, but there's little sign of a recession in the tobacco control industry.

Of the $850,000 awarded, a sizeable chunk is directed towards trying to nail a half-believable thirdhand smoke scare.

[Manuela] Martins-Green will study the effects of this kind of smoke exposure on skin biology and wound healing. The two-year $250,000 grant will support one graduate student and one postdoctoral scholar. “I am expecting to find that prolonged exposure to third-hand smoke will affect the ability of the skin to protect us from environmental exposures,” she said. “I also expect that, when injured, the skin will not heal normally and could even result in wounds that become chronic.”

Isn't it good to know that academics still strictly adhere to the principles of detached impartiality and open-minded research, eh?