Chemophobia Watch: NYT and Pediatrics

The New York Times reported recently on a Pediatrics article (Winickoff et al. 123 (1): e74. (2009)) that talked about public awareness levels of "thirdhand smoke" (short version: people don't know about it, but it's bad.) "Thirdhand smoke" is the residue that lingers after the smoker has left the room. While I generally agree with the concept that "there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke", it still makes my scientist brain tingle. No safe level? Not even at the femtomolar level? Really?

What infuriates me is the rank chemophobia that is present in both the NYT article and the original journal article:

According to the National Toxicology Program, these 250 poisonous gases, chemicals, and metals include hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons), carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust), butane (used in lighter fluid), ammonia (used in household cleaners), toluene (found in paint thinners), arsenic (used in pesticides), lead (formerly found in paint), chromium (used to make steel), cadmium (used to make batteries), and polonium-210 (highly radioactive carcinogen).

Look, yes, in a high enough dose, these compounds are really bad for you. But we've known for years that the "real killers" (as opposed to those fake killers) in cigarette smoke are the polyaromatic hydrocarbons and the nitrosoarenes. All these other compounds are bad for you, yes, but it's like focusing on a cop's pocket knife while he's got a .45 cal pointed at your chest.

It points to a really bad habit on the part of reporters: hear chemical name, put into Google, find MSDS, freak out, publish results. Don't forget the #1 rule of toxicology: dose makes the poison, even when the MSDS sounds nasty.