Tar is the name for the resinous, combusted particulate matter made by the burning of tobacco and other plant material in the act of smoking.
Tar is occasionally referred to as an acronym for total aerosol residue,[3] a backronym coined in the mid-1960s.
[4] Tar, when in the lungs, coats the cilia causing them to stop working and eventually die, causing conditions such as lung cancer as the toxic particles in tobacco smoke are no longer trapped by the cilia but enter the alveoli directly.
Containing cancer-causing substances, this third-hand smoke poses a potential health hazard to nonsmokers who are exposed to it, especially children.
Individuals at risk such as infants, children and nonsmoking adults may suffer tobacco-related health problems when they inhale, ingest or touch substances containing third-hand smoke.
These may include ammonia, acrolein, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, nicotine, nitrogen oxides, arsenic, and sulfur dioxide, many of which contain irritants and toxicants to the eye and respiratory tract.