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The use of tobacco and its products are known to cause many illnesses including cancer. A smokeless tobacco locally manufactured called tuibur (tobacco brew) has been consumed by the Mizos from a very long time. In this experiment we aim to determine the cytotoxicity of tuibur by an in vitro study on tuibur-treated human peripheral blood lymphocytes. We have found that 24 h treatment of human lymphocytes with two grades of commercial tuibur and nicotine showed a concentration dependent decrease in cell viability. We, therefore, concluded that as the in vitro use of tuibur has an adverse effect on cell survival, its consumption might have potential side effects on the health of the users.

Tobacco is an important agricultural product that is consumed all over the world. More than 8000 chemicals are reported to be present in tobacco, and a large number of these chemicals are known carcinogens, and hence is known to be one of the most significant contributors to the development of cancer of different body parts. These chemicals have been reported to alter both the genetic and epigenetic constituents of cells. Such changes involve point mutation, deletion, insertion, recombination, transversion, transition, and chromosomal aberrations including aneuploidy and polyploidy. The chemical composition of different types of tobacco has been reported to be different. In this article, brief information about tobacco plants; history, types and popularity of tobacco; its chemical composition; relation to cancer and other diseases and its effects on the molecular, epigenetic and genetic compositions have been highlighted.

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