Smokers were further demonized when it was discovered that smoke residue could collect on walls, drapery, clothing, and into central HVAC systems to be inhaled by people later as thirdhand smoke.
Of all the crops grown by early American farmers, the most important was tobacco. Colonial farmers got rich satisfying the European demand for the cash crop that has very few uses other than for cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco. My father, who spent his summers working in tobacco fields, was a reformed smoker who would always say, “Cigarette smokers stink” when asked his opinion of the aromatic leaf. By the late 20th century, American culture was moving away from tobacco as the awareness of the health risks associated with smoking and the demands of non-smokers were on the increase. Coincidentally, the emergence of HVAC in American homes occurred as the number of smokers began to decline. The perils of secondhand smoke became known in the 1960s with the obvious observation that smoke exhaled by a smoker in a closed room would be inhaled by others. Smokers were further demonized when it was discovered that smoke residue could collect on walls, drapery, clothing, and into central HVAC systems to be inhaled by people later as thirdhand smoke. A common example of thirdhand smoke is the motel AC unit that blows a chemical-laden blast of air into a room where smokers have stayed. In any house or place of business where there is smoking, the tar-like residue of tobacco will accumulate deep inside the ductwork and the inner workings of a central HVAC unit. A person can clean the vent and perhaps reach arms-length into a duct, but it will take the efforts of a qualified HVAC professional equipped with the tools and chemicals to completely remove it. Only then will you be able to breathe air that is free of any smoky odors.