Introduction: Cigarette smoking affects nitric oxide production. The aim of this study was to determine associations between tobacco smoke and serum nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) concentration. Methods: Serum NOx concentration was measured by the Griess method in 230 nonsmokers, 238 active, 196 passive and 29 waterpipe smokers. Subjects were selected from participants of Tehran Lipid and Gl...

Cigarette smoking (CS) continues to be a major health hazard, and it contributes significantly to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Cigarette smoking impacts all phases of atherosclerosis from endothelial dysfunction to acute clinical events, the latter being largely thrombotic. Both active and passive (environmental) cigarette smoke exposure predispose to cardiovascular events. Whether t...

Secondhand smoke exposure (SHS) causes a disproportionate health burden for children, yet existing smoke-free laws are often poorly enforced. We monitored air quality while observing children and adult nonsmokers present in public venues during Ramadan, a period of Muslim religious observance marked by family and social gatherings, in Jakarta, Indonesia. A repeated-measures design was used to a...

BACKGROUND Very few studies have evaluated the adverse effect of passive smoking exposure among active smokers, probably due to the unproven assumption that the dose of toxic compounds that a smoker inhales by passive smoke is negligible compared to the dose inhaled by active smoke. METHODS In a controlled situation of indoor active smoking, we compared daily benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) dose, estima...

Active smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of bacterial infection. Tobacco smoke exposure increases susceptibility to respiratory tract infections, including tuberculosis, pneumonia and Legionnaires disease; bacterial vaginosis and sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea; Helicobacter pylori infection; periodontitis; meningitis; otitis med...

It has been shown, that smoking results in a lower yield of surfactant associated phospholipids in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Indirect evidence suggests impaired secretion. In the present study, we investigated the influence of cigarette smoke on surfactant secretion in cultured rat alveolar type II cells. Smoke exposure was achieved by bubbling the smoke of four cigarettes through Dulbecco'...

BACKGROUND Pregnant women are exposed to tobacco smoke through active smoking and contact with secondhand smoke (SHS), and these exposures have a significant impact on public health. We investigated the factors that mediate active smoking, successful quitting, and SHS exposure among pregnant women in Crete, Greece. METHODS Using a cotinine-validated questionnaire, data were collected on activ...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke has both pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Both active and passive cigarette smoke exposure are linked to an increased incidence and severity of respiratory virus infections, but underlying mechanisms are not well defined. We hypothesized, based on prior gene expression profiling studies, that upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators by short term smok...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study is conducted aiming to assess and compare the salivary levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in active and passive smokers to determine the correlation between environmental tobacco smoke and health condition. METHODS: This study evaluated 75 healthy individuals inc...

BACKGROUND Few studies assessing the relationship between active and passive smoking and tuberculosis have used biomarkers to measure smoke exposure. We sought to determine the association between active and passive smoking and LTBI in a representative sample of US adults and children. METHODS We used the 1999-2000 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset with tube...