Nicotine is considered the major addictive agent in tobacco. Tobacco users extensively metabolize nicotine to cotinine. Both nicotine and cotinine undergo N-glucuronidation. Human liver microsomes have been shown to catalyze the formation of these N-glucuronides. However, which UDP-glucuronosyltransferases contribute to this catalysis has not been identified. To identify these enzymes, we initi...

OBJECTIVE Tobacco education is among the initiatives encouraged for health professionals to help them appreciate the significance of addressing tobacco use among their patients. In this pilot study, a nicotine biomarker (cotinine) study was introduced to an applied microbiology course required of all allied health students. Participants assessed their own smoking status in the previous 24 h usi...

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to validate self-reported smoking among high school students using urinary cotinine. METHODS A self report of smoking behavior was collected together with urine sample for cotinine analysis from 130 male and female students in two vocational high school students in November, 2007. Validity and agreement between self-reported smoking and urinary cotinine was...

INTRODUCTION More than 80% of all smokeless tobacco (ST) products in the world are consumed in South Asia; yet little is known about their consumption behaviour, addictiveness, and toxic properties. This paper, for the first time, describes associations between salivary cotinine concentrations among ST users in Bangladesh and their socio-demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviours. ...

BACKGROUND The evaluation of infant meconium as a cumulative matrix of prenatal toxicant exposure requires comparison to established biomarkers of prenatal exposure. METHODS We calculated the frequency of detection and concentration of tobacco smoke metabolites measured in meconium (nicotine, cotinine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine concentrations) and three serial serum cotinine concentrations...

Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture containing, among other chemicals, pyridine alkaloids and N-nitrosamines. Carcinogenic tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), are both activated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 in rats. Previous reports indicate that nicotine and the main nicotine metabolite, cotinine, reduce the ...

Although investigators have assessed the relationship between self-reported cigarette smoking and biomarker levels, the validity of self-reported information on smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is uncertain. We used aggregated data from the 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, and 2009-2010 administrations of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to compare self-reported SLT use ...

Hypertension is a major public health problem. Identifying novel risk factors for hypertension, including widely prevalent environmental exposures, is therefore important. Active smoking is a well-known risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. However, there are no studies investigating the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure, measured objectively by serum cotinine, ...

BACKGROUND Evidence supporting a link between postnatal environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and cognitive problems among children is mounting, but inconsistent. OBJECTIVES We examined the relationship between ETS exposure, measured using urine cotinine, and IQ scores in Korean school-aged children. METHODS The participants were 996 children 8-11 years of age recruited from five admin...

AIMS To assess the short-term impact of smoking and smoking cessation measured by self-report and by serum cotinine on the risk of secondary cardiovascular disease events (CVD events). METHODS AND RESULTS Cohort study among participants of an in-patient 3-week rehabilitation programme following an acute coronary syndrome or coronary artery revascularization. Smoking status at baseline was ass...