Smoking inflicts damage to cells quicker than earlier thought

Smoking linked to quicker cell damage

Cell damage can occur within just a few minutes of smoking, a study by American researchers showed on Saturday. The findings, published by the American Chemical Society's Chemical Research in Toxicology journal, revealed that the toxic "effect is so fast that it's equivalent to injecting the substance directly into the bloodstream."

Cell damage by smoking has been the subject of research before, but this was the first study documenting the mechanism as observed in human DNA. The research effort was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

During the study, researchers monitored a substance called phenanthrene, a kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) which is found in cigarette smoke, barbecue food, and coal plants.

They found that phenanthrene produced a by-product that is known to "trash DNA, causing mutations that can cause cancer."

"The smokers developed maximum levels of the substance in a time frame that surprised even the researchers: just 15-30 minutes after the volunteers finished smoking," the study authors said. They added that the findings were "significant because PAH diol epoxides react readily with DNA, induces mutations, and are considered to be ultimate carcinogens of multiple PAH in cigarette smoke."

The additional evidence of the cancer-causing properties of tobacco smoke should serve as a "stark warning" to all smokers and to people who are considering to start the habit, the researchers said.

The study team excluded other factors such as poor diet and environmental pollution to make the findings more specific among the 12 volunteer smokers.

Cigarette smoking is responsible for nearly 90 percent of the 3,000 lung cancer deaths around the world every day.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday January 16 2011, 2:07 AM EDT. Ref: Inquirer. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0