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Exposure to Tobacco Products

Why is childhood tobacco exposure relevant to health?

Childhood exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke is a cause of decreased lung function, lower respiratory illnesses, middle ear disease, asthma and other respiratory symptoms, and persistent adverse effects on lung function.

In addition, all individuals who are less than 18 years of age are defined by NIH as children; many of them may already be smokers, smokeless tobacco users, or e-cigarette users, and may be addicted to nicotine and subjected to chronic exposures to tobacco toxicants and carcinogens, thus increasing their risk for the multiple diseases associated with tobacco use. Tobacco product exposure during childhood is so ubiquitous and its effects are so wide-ranging that it is nearly imperative to assess it in studies of health outcomes.

What types of questions can be answered?

One can determine whether there is current exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (for periods ranging from hours to 1-2 weeks after exposure). For current users of tobacco products, the type of product (combusted vs. non-combusted) can be determined. Users of e-cigarettes can also be specifically identified (by the ratio of nicotine to NNK metabolites) in cases where nicotine replacement therapy has not been used. A panel of carcinogen and toxicant metabolites arising from tobacco products can be quantified to determine the nature of complex tobacco product exposures.

How can tobacco exposure be measured?

  • Analytes: Nicotine and its metabolites, tobacco-specific nitrosamines and their metabolites, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, metabolites of volatile organic compounds, metals, and biomarkers of oxidative damage and inflammation can be measured. Tobacco-specific nitrosamine metabolites are specific to tobacco products; nicotine and its metabolites are also relatively specific but could also come from nicotine replacement therapy products or e-cigarettes. Metabolites of volatile organic compounds are consistently higher in active smokers than in non-smokers. For secondhand smoke exposure, metabolites of nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines, measured in urine, are the most useful.
  • Types of biospecimens: Urine, serum, plasma, saliva, and toenails are used. Urine is generally the preferred biospecimen because the absolute amounts of the analytes are generally higher in urine samples than in the other types of specimens. Because analytes measured in urine vary in concentration, they are typically corrected for urine dilution.

How does CHEAR ensure the quality of its analyses?


What sample quality and quantity are necessary?

This is highly dependent on the assay to be run, but in general a few milliliters of urine, serum, or plasma are required. Most of the analytes are quite stable, so multiple freeze-thaw cycles should not be a problem. The exception is nicotine itself, which can be lost or inadvertently introduced during multiple manipulations.



Page last updated: 
July 27, 2018