Maternal exposure to tobacco smoke is known to have deleterious effects on the developing fetus, but it has only recently been shown that there may be life-long consequences due to genotoxic damage. Analysis of newborn cord bloods with the GPA somatic mutation assay demonstrates a significant effect of maternal active smoking and suggests that similar mutational induction occurs in mothers who ...

Nanoparticles have been defined as particles having one or more dimensions < 100 nanometers [nm] or 0.1 microns. They are so small they have different physical properties than conventional crystals of the same chemical. They have promising applications; a benefit is that airborne nanomaterials (NM) can condense with and clean smoke from the air more quickly than the smoke would settle without a...

OBJECTIVE The effects of passive smoke exposure on respiratory health are still under debate. Therefore, we examined the risk of respiratory symptoms related to passive smoke exposure among German adults within the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. METHODS The questionnaire data of the population-based sample (n = 1,890) were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression models were carr...

BACKGROUND The relationship between tobacco smoking, including secondhand smoking, and depression has been assessed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between secondhand smoking among current, former and never smokers and depressive symptoms. For secondhand smoking, gender differences and sources of exposure were examined. METHODS Data from 34,693 participants from the...

The relationship of serum vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and selenium to asthma was investigated among 7,505 youth (4-16 years old) in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Logistic regression models adjusted for potentially confounding variables, which generally had no effect on the coefficients for the antioxidants. Serum vitamin E had little or no association with...

Cigarette smoke-triggered inflammation is considered to play a central role in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by a mechanism that may involve enhanced proinflammatory gene transcription. Histone acetylation and deacetylation is a key regulator of the specificity and duration of gene transcription. Disruption in the nuclear histone acetylation:deacetylation balance (chr...

Cannabis sativa contains more than 400 known compounds, of which the terpene chemicals, called cannabinoids, are unique to this species. The cannabinoids, which occur as the corresponding acids in the plant material, are the major psychoactive components in this species. The compounds are decarboxylated from the inactive acidic form into the active form by means of smoking. Previous research ha...

Despite extensive efforts, pancreatic cancer remains incurable. Most risk factors, such as genetic disposition, metabolic diseases or chronic pancreatitis cannot be influenced. By contrast, cigarette smoking, an important risk factor for pancreatic cancer, can be controlled. Despite the epidemiological evidence of the detrimental effects of cigare...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent airflow limitation and lung inflammation resulting in a progressive decline in lung function whose principle cause is cigarette smoke. MAP3K19 is a novel kinase expressed predominantly by alveolar and interstitial macrophages and bronchial epithelial cells in the lung. We found that MAP3K19 mRNA was overexpressed in a l...

Traditionally, nicotine from second hand smoke (SHS), active or passive, has been considered the most prevalent substance of abuse used during pregnancy in industrialized countries. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with a variety of health effects, including lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Tobacco is also a major burden to people who do not smoke. As developi...