Measurements of dermal uptake of nicotine directly from air and clothing

Dermal uptake directly from air is a significant contributor to total exposure for certain organic compounds, and has been recently experimentally verified for two phthalates. The objective of the current study was to investigate whether airborne nicotine can be dermally absorbed. Two bare-skinned subjects together with a subject wearing clean clothes were dermally exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for three hours in a climate chamber; during the exposure all three subjects breathed clean air through hoods covering their heads. The clothed subject later repeated his exposure wearing a shirt previously exposed to tobacco smoke. Urine samples were subsequently analyzed for nicotine and two of its metabolites. The results demonstrate that nicotine can be dermally absorbed directly from air atrates comparable to passive smoking. Wearing clean clothes significantly decreases uptake, while wearing exposed clothes results in substantial uptake.