Four metrics were used to assess exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for a probability sample (n = 152) of elementary school-age children in two economically disadvantaged neighborhoods: a) caregiver responses to a baseline questionnaire (BQ) about smoking status and behavior; b) 48-hr time-activity (T-A) data on location and time spent by children in the presence of tobacco smoke; c)...

BACKGROUND Cigar consumption is increasing in the United States, but little information is available about exposure to toxic constituents from cigar smoking. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of biomarkers of tobacco exposure among 25,522 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 1999-2012). The biomarkers analyzed were serum cotinine, urina...

This study investigated the association between biomarkers of fetal exposure to cigarette smoke at the end of pregnancy, cotinine in cord serum and in maternal and newborn urine samples, and quantitative measurement of smoking intake and exposure evaluated by maternal self-reported questionnaire. Study subjects were 429 mothers and their newborns from a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. A questionn...

Nicotine, the major addicting agent in tobacco and tobacco smoke, undergoes a complex metabolic pathway, with approximately 22% of nicotine urinary metabolites in the form of phase II N-glucuronidated compounds. Recent studies have shown that UGT2B10 is a major enzyme involved in the N-glucuronidation of several tobacco-specific nitrosamines. In the present study, microsomes of UGT2B10-overexpr...

BACKGROUND Nondaily or intermittent smokers (ITS) are increasingly common, but how much nicotine, if any, ITS take in and how quickly they metabolize it has not yet been studied. METHODS We compared carbon monoxide (CO), urinary cotinine, and nicotine metabolism [nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR): 3-hydroxycotinine:cotinine] in 224 ITS and 222 daily smokers (DS). Effects of gender and ethnicity...

In the October issue of Thorax, Leonardi-Bee et al reviewed the effects of parental smoking on the uptake of smoking by children. They conclude that exposure to smoking within the family is a significant determinant of subsequent smoking. One area that this study did not address was the effect of the site of the smoking on exposure. We have studied urinary cotinine levels in children attending ...

Two predominant human glucuronide metabolites of nicotine result from pyridine nitrogen atom conjugation. The present objectives included determination of the kinetics of formation of S(-)-cotinine N1-glucuronide in pooled human liver microsomes and investigation of the UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) involved in N-glucuronidation of nicotine isomers and S(-)-cotinine by use of recombinant ...

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...