title: Cotinine and tobacco-specific carcinogen exposure among nondaily smokers in a multiethnic sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nondaily smoking has increased among current U.S. smokers during the past decade and is practiced by a significant percentage of smokers. Although research in nondaily smoking has grown, little is known about levels of exposure to tobacco toxicants among nondaily smokers and their variation across ethnic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined urinary levels of cotinine and a tobacco-specific nitrosamine (NNAL) in community participants. Associations between the biomarker data and smoking characteristics were evaluated with Spearman's correlation analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants included 28 Blacks, 4 Latinos, and 25 Whites who smoked at least 1 cigarette on 4-24 days in the past 30 days. Participants averaged 3.3 (SD = 2.1) cigarettes per day (cpd) on days smoked, they smoked an average of 13.0 (SD = 5.4) days in the past month, and they smoked nondaily for 10.5 (SD = 10.5) years. Median levels of creatinine-normalized cotinine and NNAL were 490.9 ng/mg and 140.7 pg/mg, respectively. NNAL and cotinine were highly correlated (r = .84); NNAL and cotinine were modestly correlated with cpd (r = .39 and r = .34; all p values <.05). The number of days smoked per month was not associated with any biomarker levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings demonstrate that nondaily smokers are, on average, exposed to significant levels of nicotine and carcinogenic nitrosamines, with exposures of 40%-50% of those seen in daily smokers. This level of exposure suggests a significant health risk. Nicotine and carcinogen exposure is most closely related to number of cigarettes smoked per day but not to number of days per month of smoking.
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Samir S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Khariwala
authors.forename: Taneisha S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Scheuermann
authors.forename: Carla J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Rashelle B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Nollen
authors.forename: Janet L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Hongfei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jasjit S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ahluwalia
authors.forename: Neal L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Benowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine*; D044383:Black People; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000652:urine; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000652:urine*; D012907:Smoking / Q000652:urine*; D062789:Tobacco Products; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002273:Carcinogens; D009602:Nitrosamines; D009538:Nicotine; D003367:Cotinine