Research

Filtered cigarettes blamed for huge rise in type of lung cancer
Recent research has revealed that the introduction of filtered cigarettes in the 1960s and their subsequent takeover of the cigarette market corresponded with a consistent increase in the incidence of adenocarcinoma, a once rare form of lung cancer. Researchers uncovered this trend by analyzing data from the National Cancer Institute’s “Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results” (SEER) program. They separated this data into four-year time periods from 1975 through 2003 and looked at the number of various types of lung cancer cases, in conjunction with statistics concerning the availability of filtered cigarettes. Primary findings indicate that adenocarcinoma cases began to rise sharply in the 1960s, and they skyrocketed 62% between 1975-1979 and 1995-1999. At the same time, filtered cigarettes went from being only 1% of the market in 1950 to 64% in 1964 to 95% by 1986. Click here to read more about the study findings, which were recently presented at the 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer.

Hand-rolled cigarettes more carcinogenic
A recent study of lung cancer patients in Norway suggests that hand-rolled cigarettes are more carcinogenic than manufactured cigarettes. The data indicated that while people who smoked hand-rolled cigarettes smoked fewer cigarettes and had a lower average duration of smoking, this group had a higher incidence of lung cancer. The researchers posit that because hand-rolled cigarettes do not contain filters they have a higher overall nicotine and tar content. Click here to read more.

Nicotine may accelerate atherosclerosis, may be as dangerous as tar
A recent study provides evidence that the amount of nicotine found in a cigarette is directly related to the size of arterial lesions. Researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical School exposed one group of mice to smoke from reduced nicotine cigarettes and another group of mice to cigarettes with normal nicotine concentrations. They found that the mice exposed to reduced-nicotine cigarette smoke had larger lesions than control mice, yet significantly smaller lesions than mice exposed to smoke from regular cigarettes. Moreover, they observed greater oxidative stress in mice exposed to cigarettes with a higher nicotine concentration. Click here to read more about the study, which was recently published in Cardiovascular Toxicology.

Smoking harms many genes, study says
A recent British Columbia Cancer Agency study identified hundreds of genes that are altered by smoking and pinpointed a number of these that stay altered even after a smoker quits. Researchers used a technique called serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to compare respiratory tract tissue from eight current smokers, 12 former smokers and four participants who had never smoked. Analysis revealed that more than 600 genes are affected by smoking and approximately 120 of these genes remain altered in former smokers. Results like these help to explain why so many former smokers go on to develop various types of cancer and other smoking-related ailments years after quitting. Click here to read more about the study, recently published in the online journal BMC Genomics.

Nicotine in breast milk shortens naptime
A recent study provides evidence that nicotine found in breast milk disrupts a baby’s sleep patterns and dramatically reduces nap time. Researchers observed the eating and sleeping patterns of 15 breastfed infants for three and half hours on two separate days. On one day the mothers smoked between 1 and 3 cigarettes before the observation period, while on the other day they abstained from smoking. The researchers measured infant activity and sleep patterns using an actigraph on the infant’s ankle and took samples of breast milk to measure the level of nicotine present. During the observation periods after the women smoked, they found that infants napped for 53 minutes, in comparison to 84 minutes of napping after the women abstained from smoking. This reduction was due to a shortening of the longest nap and reductions in both active and quiet sleep. Click here to read more about the study, which is published in the September issues of Pediatrics.

Smoking damages ear health and complicates ear surgery
A recent study has demonstrated that smokers have significantly worse hearing acuity outcomes after surgery designed to restore it in comparison to non-smokers. The retrospective study analyzed 1,531 procedures for ear disease in 1,183 patients; of these patients, 846 were smokers, 291 were non-smokers and 74 were former smokers. Primary results indicate that smokers had significantly worse postoperative hearing acuity, experienced more complications, and needed more restorative surgery on average than non-smokers. Former smokers who had abstained for at least five years before the surgery had similar rates of recovery to non-smokers. Click here to read more about the study, which was presented at the 2007 American Academy Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting.

Smoking harms effects of periodontal plastic surgery
A recent study examined the long-term outcomes of smoking on periodontal plastic surgery. Researchers tracked ten smokers and ten non-smokers for two years after surgery to reattach soft tissue to the root surface of teeth. After the two year period, they found that smokers had more gum recession around the surgery area than non-smokers.  Click here to read more about the study, which was recently published in the Journal of Periodontology.

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