title: Assessment of urinary cotinine as a marker of nicotine absorption from tobacco leaves: a study on tobacco farmers in Malaysia.
abstract: To assess dermal absorption of nicotine from tobacco leaves in relation to Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), urinary cotinine concentrations were measured in 80 male tobacco-growing farmers and in 40 healthy males (controls) who did not handle wet tobacco leaves in Kelantan, Malaysia. Among non-smokers, urinary cotinine levels in farmers were significantly higher than those of controls; farmers with urinary cotinine of 50 ng/ml/m2 or above showed eye symptoms more frequently than those below this level (p<0.05). Farmers who did not wear protective equipment had subjective symptoms more frequently than those who used the equipment (p<0.05); some of these symptoms were seen more frequently in organophosphate (Tamaron) users than in non-users. As tobacco farmers evidence a risk of nicotine poisoning from tobacco leaves, assessment including GTS together with effects of pesticides will be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onuki
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Rusli Bin
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Naing
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Yasuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araki
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000506:poisoning*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011481:Protective Clothing; D012869:Skin Absorption; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014026:Nicotiana
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine; D003367:Cotinine