EVIDENCE MOUNTS AGAINST SECONDHAND SMOKE
Subtitle: Research finds link to breast cancer, increased blood carcinogen levels
Source: Globe and Mail (ca)
Date: 2003-12-22
Author: ANDRÉ PICARD / PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER Page A4-
New research shows, for the first time, just how seriously non-smokers can be affected by secondhand cigarette smoke, even by casual exposure in a public place. The study, published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, found that, after only four hours in a casino, non-smokers had dramatically increased levels of carcinogens circulating in their blood. Kristin Anderson, of the University of Minnesota's division of epidemiology, said the levels of two well-known tobacco-based carcinogens , known as NNK and NNAL, rose two to four times on average in non-smokers. She said that until now, a direct link between exposure to smoke and cancer-causing agents had been shown only in a laboratory setting, not in a commercial one. . . . A second, unrelated study, also published today, highlights one of those specific risks. The research, by the California Environmental Protection Agency, concludes that exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke can cause breast cancer, particularly in younger women. It is the first time this link has been made so directly. The report says that secondhand smoke can also cause lung cancer and heart disease, exacerbate asthma and bring on sudden infant death syndrome in babies and reproductive problems in adults. "This is a blockbuster study," said Gar Mahood, executive director of the Toronto-based Non-Smokers' Rights Association. "This clear link to breast cancer is going to get a lot of people concerned."
UNIV. OF MINN. STUDY FIRST TO DETECT TOBACCO-SPECIFIC CARCINOGENS IN NONSMOKERS IN PUBLIC SETTING; ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS NONSMOKERS
Source: U.S. Newswire
Date: 2003-12-22, 612-624-5680
University of Minnesota researchers found that levels of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen increased in nonsmokers when they visited a public setting where smoking is allowed. The carcinogens, metabolites of NNK, could increase their risk of lung cancer. The study is published Dec. 22 by the American Association for Cancer Research. This study is the first to measure tobacco-specific carcinogens in nonsmokers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in a public setting, in this case a casino. (A previous study by the University of Minnesota examined tobacco carcinogens in nonsmoking women who were exposed to secondhand smoke at home.) "Environmental tobacco smoke in restaurants, bars, and casinos presents a potential health hazard to employees and non-smoking patrons," said lead author Kristin Anderson .
Biomarkers were measured in urine samples from nonsmokers before and after a four-hour visit to a casino where smoking is allowed. The researchers tested for NNK through its urinary metabolites, NNAL and NNAL-Gluc, which are excellent biomarkers of human uptake of NNK. NNAL, like NNK, is a potent pulmonary (lung) carcinogen in rodents and a probable human carcinogen. The study found that, on average, the levels of NNK metabolites were increased two-fold (112 percent), demonstrating that exposure of nonsmokers to ETS in a public setting results in uptake of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen.
CASINO COUGH / SECONDHAND SMOKE IS REAL CANCER RISK, CASINO STUDY SHOWS Subtitle: A new study provides additional evidence to the long-held belief that secondhand smoke poses a health risk.
Source: ABC News - Date: 2003-12-22
Author: Marc Lallanilla / ABCNEWS.com, 997-2001
A few hours in a casino may cost you more than your paycheck. According to a new study, the amount of secondhand cigarette smoke in a casino or any other smoke-filled room may present a substantial cancer risk to nonsmokers. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, found elevated levels of a cancer-causing agent, NNAL, in the urine of nonsmokers after they spent just four hours in a commercial casino. Researchers also found elevated levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, in the samples. Both NNAL and cotinine are specific to tobacco and were not found in the nonsmokers' urine before their casino visit. "This evidence could be dynamite," says Robert West, an epidemiologist at University College London. "It is one thing to know that one is breathing in carcinogens; psychologically it is another to know that one's own body has been contaminated by them."
The study, published today in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, provides additional evidence to the long-held belief that secondhand smoke poses a health risk. The research is also expected to add fuel to the drive for anti-smoking regulations in public spaces.
