BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is an important, aggravating factor in metabolic syndrome (MetS). In addition, some studies have reported that MetS is related to alcohol consumption irrespective of the amount consumed. However, the relationship of the combination of the 2 habits to MetS has not been fully described. METHODS In this cross-sectional survey, a questionnaire was used to collect info...

The relationship between biomarkers of exposure to cigarette smoke in 24h urine samples collected from groups of 80 smokers (44 males, 36 females) and 40 never smokers (17 males, 23 females) at two centers in Europe was studied. Eight biomarkers (nicotine, cotinine, hydroxycotinine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and all of the respective glucuronide conjugates) were measu...

There is wide variability in cotinine levels per cigarette smoked. We hypothesized that in addition to smoking frequency, other behavioral measures of nicotine dependence, such as the time to first cigarette after waking, are associated with cotinine levels. To test this hypothesis, we measured plasma and urinary cotinine in a community-based study of 252 black and white daily cigarette smokers...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the potential relation between cumulative exposure to cigarette smoking in patients with or without rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a positive family history of the disease. METHODS 239 outpatient based patients with RA were compared with 239 controls matched for age, sex, and social class. A detailed smoking history was recorded and expressed as pack years smoked. Con...

BACKGROUND Roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes have increased in popularity, yet their comparative potential toxicity is uncertain. This study compares smoking of RYO and factory-made (FM) cigarettes on smoking pattern and immediate potential toxicity. METHODS At a research clinic, 26 RYO and 22 FM volunteer male cigarette smokers, (addicted and overnight-tobacco-abstinent) each smoked 4 filter ci...

Twenty-five years ago, cigarette smokers in the United Kingdom smoked plain cigarettes with an average tar yield of probably about 35 mg. Now smokers predominantly smoke filter cigarettes and average tar yields have been reduced by half. Epidemiological evidence comparing mortality in smokers of differing types of cigarettes is reviewed. Compared with smokers of higher tar plain cigarettes, smo...

Carboxyhaemoglobin and plasma thiocyanate concentrations were found to be significantly correlated with self-reported daily cigarette consumption in 360 smokers (r = 0.416 and 0.412 respectively; p less than 0.001). The extent to which inhalation patterns affected the intake of cigarette smoke constituents was determined from the partial correlation between carboxyhaemoglobin and plasma thiocya...

The relative intakes of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide were estimated in 2455 cigarette smokers, who freely smoked their usual brands of cigarette. The estimates were derived by using an objective index of inhaling based on the measurement of carboxyhaemoglobin divided by the carbon monoxide yield of the cigarettes smoked, after background and carry over carboxyhaemoglobin effects had been ...

BACKGROUND The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is examining options for regulating menthol content in cigarettes. There are many pharmacologic properties of menthol that may facilitate exposure to tobacco smoke, and it has been suggested that the preference for menthol cigarettes in black smokers accounts for their higher cotinine levels. OBJECTIVE To assess cigarettes smoked per day-adjus...

BACKGROUND Few studies examining the genetic architecture of cigarette smoking have focused on adolescents or examined developmental changes in additive genetic, shared environment, and unique environmental influences on liability to initiate cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked. The aim of this study was to add to the literature on liability to initiate and use cigarettes during...