Tobacco‐specific N‐nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cigarettes smoked by the participants of the Shanghai Cohort Study. Issue 6 (17th June 2016) - Yershova, Katrina
Abstract : Our recent studies on tobacco smoke carcinogen and toxicant biomarkers and cancer risk among male smokers in the Shanghai Cohort Study showed that exposure to tobacco‐specific nitrosamines (TSNA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is prospectively associated with the risk of cancer. These findings support the hypothesis that the smokers' cancer risk is a function of the dose of select tobacco carcinogens and highlight the importance of understanding the factors that affect the intake of these carcinogens by smokers. Given that tobacco constituent exposures are driven, at least in part, by the levels of these constituents in cigarette smoke, we measured mainstream smoke TSNA and PAH levels in 43 Chinese cigarette brands that participants of the Shanghai Cohort Study reported to smoke. In all brands analyzed here, mainstream smoke levels of NNN and NNK, the two carcinogenic TSNA, were generally relatively low, averaging (±SD) 16.8(±25.1) and 14.2(±9.5) ng/cigarette, respectively. The levels of PAH were comparable to those found in U.S. cigarettes, averaging 15(±9) ng/cigarette for benzo[ a ]pyrene, 119(±66) ng/cigarette for phenanthrene and 37(±19) ng/cigarette for pyrene. Our findings indicate that the generally low levels of NNN and NNK are most likely responsible for the relatively low levels of the corresponding biomarkers in the urine of the Shanghai Cohort Study participants as compared to those found in the U.S. smokers, supporting the role of the levels of these constituents in cigarette smoke in smokers' exposures. Our findings also suggest that, in addition to smoking, other sources contribute to Chinese smokers' exposure to PAH. Abstract : What's new? Recently, the Shanghai Cohort Study showed that Chinese smokers were exposed to less of certain tobacco‐specific N ‐nitrosamines (TSNA) and more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) than American smokers. Is this due to different cigarette composition? When the authors measured how much PAH and TSNA the smoke of Chinese cigarettes contained, they did indeed detect generally lower levels of TSNA than those found in American cigarettes, consistent with the previous findings. However, smoke of Chinese cigarettes contained similar PAH levels to US cigarettes, suggesting that Chinese smokers are exposed to high levels of PAH from other sources in addition to cigarettes, for example from air pollution or occupational exposures.