You've heard of the dangers of smoking and of second hand smoke, but have you heard of third hand smoke? It's a newly discovered danger that doctors are now warning of. Third hand smoke is the toxic chemicals left on clothing and in you hair that lingers long after you've smoked a cigarette. So even if you don't smoke around your child, it's still dangerous to children, giving the health department yet another reason to discourage tobacco use.

Arkansas is a relatively small state compared to the rest of the country, but in terms of tobacco use, we rank tenth, with 20% of high school students who smoke and 22% of adults who smoke.

"Both of those rates have been coming down, but obviously we have a long way to go," Dr. Carolyn Dresler with the Arkansas Department of Health said.

According to the health department, smoking puts a big toll financially on the state. The annual health care costs in Arkansas directly caused by smoking is $812 million. $242 million of that is covered by Medicaid. Arkansans are paying 564 dollars per household for the state and federal tax burden from smoking caused government costs, and the productivity lost from smoking in Arkansas is over one billion dollars.

"If people smoke, they take more sick days. Evidence shows that clearly they're not at work as much," Dresler said.

That's just the financial burden. Smoking related illnesses cause nearly 5,000 deaths a year in the natural state. And with the risk of second hand smoke, and now a new risk of third hand smoke, the health department says it's never too late to stop the habit.

"If you quit smoking in middle age, you are statistically unlikely to die from tobacco related disease. But if you continue to smoke, you have a 50/50 chance of dying from using tobacco," Dresler said.

The residue found in third hand smoke includes, heavy metals, carcinogens and, even radioactive materials that are dangerous to children.