Effect of Delivered Dosage of Cigarette Smoke Toxins on the Levels of Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure

Abstract

Urinary metabolites of tobacco smoke toxins are often used as biomarkers for the evaluation of active and passive exposure to cigarette smoke toxins. In a study of healthy smokers, we investigated concentrations of urinary biomarkers in relation to concentrations of selected toxins in mainstream cigarette smoke as determined by machine smoking of cigarettes in a manner that mimics an individual's smoking behavior (topography). Concentrations of nicotine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, and benzo(a)pyrene, in mainstream smoke determined under human smoking conditions, and their urinary metabolites cotinine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol, and 1-hydroxypyrene were established for 257 individuals who smoked low-yield (0.1-0.8 mg Federal Trade Commission nicotine/cigarette; mean, 0.66; n = 87), medium-yield (0.9-1.2 mg nicotine/ cigarette; mean, 1.1; n = 109), and high-yield cigarettes (nicotine, >1.3 mg nicotine/cigarette; mean, 1.41; n = 61). Levels of urinary metabolites expressed per unit of delivered parent compounds decreased with increased smoke emissions. In smokers of low-, medium-, and high-yield cigarettes, the respective cotinine (ng/mg creatinine)-to-nicotine (mg/d) ratios were 89.4, 77.8, and 57.1 (low versus high; P = 0.06); the 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (pmol/mg creatinine)-to-4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (ng/d) ratios were 0.81, 0.55, and 0.57 (low versus high; P = 0.05); and the 1-hydroxypyrene (pg/mg creatinine)-to-benzo(a)pyrene (ng/d) ratios were 1.55, 1.13, and 0.97 (low versus high; P = 0.008). Similarly, means of cotinine per unit of delivered nicotine in smokers who consumed <20 cigarettes per day was 3.5-fold higher than in those who smoked >20 cigarettes per day. Likewise, a negative correlation was observed between cotinine-to-nicotine ratios and delivered doses of nicotine in subgroups of smokers who used the identical brand of cigarette, namely a filter tip-vented Marlboro (r = À0.59), which is a popular brand among EuroAmericans, and Newport (r = À0.37), a menthol-flavored cigarette without filter tip vents that is preferred by AfricanAmericans. Thus, the intensity of the exposures significantly affects the levels of urinary biomarkers of exposure and should be taken into account in the evaluation of human exposure to cigarette smoke toxins. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(7):1408 -15)

Smokers of Menthol and Nonmenthol Cigarettes Exhibit Similar Levels of Biomarkers of Smoke Exposure

“…Secondly, it seems that there may be measurable differences in metabolic pathways for key smoking-related biomarkers between black and white smokers (43). These realities have constrained prior efforts to assess menthol as an independent variable in smoking biomarker work (8). Indeed, significant difficulty in recruiting racially balanced study groups was also encountered in the present investigation.…”

“…Whereas additional refinement and validation of such methods for this application are indicated, analyses of novel or existing smoke constituent biomarkers may also permit the evaluation of modified cigarette products that may have reduced risks to continuing smokers who are unwilling to quit (4)(5)(6). Cigarette smoke exposure biomarkers have also been applied to the task of comparing relative exposures that result from different types of commercial cigarettes designed to produce different smoke ''tar'' yields when assessed by standardized, validated mechanical smoking methods (7)(8)(9).…”

Do Smokers of Menthol Cigarettes Find It Harder to Quit Smoking?

“…In reality, each cigarette sub-brand can vary on a number of additional dimensions, including filter ventilation, standardized machine-measured nicotine yield, and cigarette length. It has been noted that a very high proportion of African American smokers smoke specific brands (e.g., Newport) with little filter ventilation, and relatively high machinemeasured nicotine yield, whereas whites tend to smoke ventilated low or medium machine-measured nicotine yield cigarettes such as Marlboro/Marlboro Lights (Melikian, Djordjevic, Chen, & Richie 2007;Okuyemi, Ebersole-Robinson, Nazir, & Ahluwalia, 2004). Rose and Behm (2010) recently presented the reanalyses of two clinical trials examining the association between abstinence, menthol preference, and various other variables.…”

Meat and Meat Mutagens and Risk of Prostate Cancer in the Agricultural Health Study

“…BaP is highly toxic, however, and evidence from animal studies consistently shows a positive association between BaP and tumors at several anatomic sites (29,30). There are many sources of exposure to BaP, including tobacco smoke, pollution, and other dietary sources (31)(32)(33). Studies of BaP from other sources, such as tobacco smoke and occupational exposures, have found positive associations with prostate cancer risk (34)(35)(36)(37).…”