Levels of mint and wintergreen flavorants: smokeless tobacco products vs. confectionery products.

Nicotine and flavorant compound levels were measured in 10 "mint"-related sub-brands and 8 "wintergreen" sub-brands of smokeless tobacco (SLT). Also analyzed were "mint"-related and "wintergreen" confectionery products. Of the "mint" SLT, "Timberwolf Packs Mint Pouches" contained the highest menthol level (5.3 mg/g); the average for the five most-highly mentholated SLT products was 4.3 mg/g. The average for the most five most-highly mentholated confectionery products was 3.5 mg/g. For hard candy, a reported average of maximum use levels is 2.1 mg/g (Burdock, 2009). Of the "wintergreen" SLT, "Hawken Wintergreen" was found to contain the highest methyl salicylate (MS) level (29.7 mg/g). The average of the five highest SLT MS levels was 23.8 mg/g, i.e., 5x higher than the level found in the confectionery product with the highest MS level (LifeSavers Wint O Green Sugar Free, 4.6 mg/g). For hard candy, a reported average of maximum use levels is 2.0 mg/g (Burdock, 2009). Assuming 23.8 mg/g MS in SLT, SLT use at 15 g/day, 100% bodily absorption of the MS, and 60 kg body weight, the average daily intake would be 6.0 mg/kg-day, i.e., 12x the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0.5 mg/kg-day established for this compound by a joint FAO/WHO committee.

Cigarette smoke induces genetic instability in airway epithelial cells by suppressing FANCD2 expression.

Chromosomal abnormalities are commonly found in bronchogenic carcinoma cells, but the molecular causes of chromosomal instability (CIN) and their relationship to cigarette smoke has not been defined. Because the Fanconi anaemia (FA)/BRCA pathway is essential for maintenance of chromosomal stability, we tested the hypothesis that cigarette smoke suppresses that activity of this pathway. Here, we show that cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) inhibited translation of FANCD2 mRNA (but not FANCC or FANCG) in normal airway epithelial cells and that this suppression of FANCD2 expression was sufficient to induce both genetic instability and programmed cell death in the exposed cell population. Cigarette smoke condensate also suppressed FANCD2 function and induced CIN in bronchogenic carcinoma cells, but these cells were resistant to CSC-induced apoptosis relative to normal airway epithelial cells. We, therefore, suggest that CSC exerts pressure on airway epithelial cells that results in selection and emergence of genetically unstable somatic mutant clones that may have lost the capacity to effectively execute an apoptotic programme. Carcinogen-mediated suppression of FANCD2 gene expression provides a plausible molecular mechanism for CIN in bronchogenic carcinogenesis.

A consideration of the role of gas/particle partitioning in the deposition of nicotine and other tobacco smoke compounds in the respiratory tract.

Tobacco smoke is an aerosol that contains both gaseous and suspended particulate material (PM). The particles are largely liquid droplets containing a wide variety of condensed organic compounds. Each compound in the smoke will partition between the gas and PM phases and will always seek a state of gas/particle equilibrium. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, a compound such as nicotine can deposit in the respiratory tract (RT) by four different mechanisms: (1) direct gas deposition (DGD) of the portion of the compound that is initially in the gas phase of the inhaled smoke; (2) evaporative gas deposition (EGD) of PM-phase compound by evaporation to the gas phase, then deposition; (3) particle deposition, evaporation from the deposited particle, then deposition from the gas phase (PDE); and (4) particle deposition with diffusion (PDD) into RT tissue. Three of the mechanisms (DGD, EGD, and PDE) involve volatilization from the PM phase. The relative importance of all the mechanisms is therefore greatly affected by the volatility of the compound from the PM phase as it is set by the compound's gas/particle partitioning constant K(p) through the compound's vapor pressure. For a largely nonvolatile compound such as benzo[a]pyrene, only PDD will likely be important. For a semivolatile compound such as nicotine, all four mechanisms can be important. Because tobacco smoke alkaloids such as nicotine can exist in protonated as well as free-base form, the fraction alpha(fb) of the compound that is in the neutral free-base form in the PM phase plays a critical, pH-dependent role in determining the relative importance of the four mechanisms. Equations are developed that can be used to ascertain the importance of the DGD and EGD mechanisms. The value of alpha(fb) for nicotine in a tobacco smoke PM is set by pH(eff), the effective pH of the PM phase. Historically, a primary method for measuring "smoke pH" has involved the direct exposure of a pH electrode to tobacco smoke. This method cannot yield direct insight into pH(eff) or alpha(fb) values because (1) problems exist in using such an electrode to measure smoke PM-phase pH, and (2) by itself, a measurement of the pH of tobacco smoke PM says nothing about the effects of PM-phase activity coefficients of protonated and free-base nicotine on the nicotine species distribution. The "acidic" values that have typically been measured for cigarette "smoke pH" by the direct pH electrode method are therefore neither reliable nor useful in determining the relative distribution of PM-phase nicotine among the protonated and free-base forms. The dependence of the volatility of nicotine from tobacco smoke PM on alpha(fb) means that measuring the gas/particle distribution of nicotine under equilibrium conditions in a tobacco smoke by denuder samplers (or by another method) can yield information about the nicotine K(p) for that smoke. Knowledge of K(p,fb), the partitioning constant for nicotine in the free-base form, then allows calculation of alpha(fb) through the relation K(p) = K(p,fb)/alpha(fb). The available data suggest that the smoke PM from some commercial cigarettes can be characterized by alpha(fb) > or = 0.4, i.e., 40% or more of the nicotine in the free-base form. This conclusion is consistent with (1) the gas-sampling denuder results obtained by Philip Morris in which significant tobacco smoke nicotine was observed to deposit in acid-coated denuder tubes, with more depositing when the cigarette tobacco blend was treated with ammonia; (2) the view that the sensory "impact" exhibited by some tobacco smokes is caused by the deposition of gaseous nicotine in the pharynx; (3) the observed throat irritation caused by nicotine inhalers; and (4) the high overall respiratory tract deposition efficiencies for nicotine of 0.9 and greater that have been reported for some cigarette smokes. The available information combines to create a picture of nicotine in cigarette smoke that contradicts the traditional view that cigarette smoke PM is typically acidic, with little free-base nicotine typically present in the smoke PM phase. Government agencies interested in establishing a framework for the testing and monitoring of nicotine delivery may wish to consider requiring the measurement and publication of the PM-phase alpha(fb) values for the cigars and cigarettes marketed in their jurisdictions.

Gas/solid partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) to air filters. 3. An analysis of gas adsorption artifacts in measurements of atmospheric SOCs and organic carbon (OC). WHen using teflon membrane filters and quartz fiber filters.

Adsorption of gaseous semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) onto the filter(s) of a filter/sorbent sampler is a potential source of measurement error when determining specific SOCs as well as organic carbon (OC) levels in the atmosphere. This work examines partitioning to both Teflon membrane filters (TMFs) and quartz fiber filters (QFFs) for purposes of predicting the magnitude of the compound-dependent gas adsorption artifact as a function of various sampling parameters. The examination is based on values of Kp,face (m3 cm(-2)), the gas/filter partition coefficient expressed as [ng sorbed per cm2 of filter face]/[ng per m3 in the gas phase]. Values of Kp,face were calculated based on literature values of the gas/solid partition coefficient Kp,s [ng sorbed per m2 of filter]/[ng per m3 in gas phase] for the adsorption of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) to TMFs, and for the adsorption of PAHs to QFFs. At relative humidity (RH) values below approximately 50%, the Kp,face values for PAHs are lower on TMFs than on ambient-backup QFFs. The gas adsorption artifact will therefore be lower for PAHs with TMFs than with QFFs under these conditions. In the past, corrections for the gas/filter adsorption artifact have been made by using a backup filter, and subtracting the mass amount of each compound found on the backup filter from the total (particle phase + sorbed on filter) amount found on the front filter. This procedure assumes that the ng cm(-2) amounts of each SOC sorbed on the front and backup filters are equal. That assumption will only be valid after both filters have reached equilibrium with each of the gaseous SOCs in the incoming sample air. The front filter will reach equilibrium first. The minimum air sample volume Vmin,f+b required to reach gas/filter sorption equilibrium with a pair of filters is 2Kp,face Afilter where Afilter (cm2) is the per-filter face area. Kp,face values, and therefore Vmin,f+b values, depend on the compound, relative humidity (RH), temperature, and filter type. Compound-dependent Vmin,f+b values are presented for PAHs and PCDD/Fs on both TMFs and QFFs. Compound-dependent equations which give the magnitude of the filter adsorption artifact are presented for a range of different sampling arrangements and circumstances. The equations are not intended for use in actually correcting field data because of uncertainties in actual field values of relevant parameters such as the compound-dependent Kp,face and gas/particle Kp values, and because of the fact that the equations assume ideal step-function chromatographic movement of gas-phase compounds through the adsorbing filter. Rather, the main utility of the equations is as guidance tools in designing field sampling efforts that utilize filter/sorbent samplers and in evaluating prior work. The results indicate that some backup-filter-based corrections described in the literature were carried out using sample volumes that were too small to allow proper correction for the gas adsorption artifactfor some specific SOCs of interest. Similar conclusions are reached regarding artifacts associated with the measurement of gaseous and particulate OC.

Modeling the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). 2. The predicted effects of relative humidity on aerosol formation in the alpha-pinene-, beta-pinene-, sabinene-, delta 3-carene-, and cyclohexene-ozone systems.

Atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds can lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) through the gas/particle (G/P) partitioning of the oxidation products. Since water is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, the extent of the partitioning for any individual organic product depends not only on the amounts and properties of the partitioning organic compounds, but also on the amount of water present. Predicting the effects of water on the atmospheric G/P distributions of organic compounds is, therefore, central to understanding SOA formation. The goals of the current work are to gain understanding of how increases in RH affect (1) overall SOA yields, (2) water uptake by SOA, (3) the behaviors of individual oxidation products, and (4) the fundamental physical properties of the SOA phase that govern the G/P distribution of each of the oxidation products. Part 1 of this series considered SOA formation from five parent hydrocarbons in the absence of water. This paper predicts how adding RH to those systems uniformly increases both the amount of condensed organic mass and the amount of liquid water in the SOA phase. The presence of inorganic components is not considered. The effect of increasing RH is predicted to be stronger for SOA produced from cyclohexene as compared to SOA produced from four monoterpenes. This is likely a result of the greater general degree of oxidation (and hydrophilicity) of the cyclohexene products. Good agreement was obtained between predicted SOA yields and laboratory SOA yield data actually obtained in the presence of water. As RH increases, the compounds that play the largest roles in changing both the organic and water masses in the SOA phase are those with vapor pressures that are intermediate between those of essentially nonvolatile and highly volatile species. RH-driven changes in the compound-dependent G/P partitioning coefficient Kp result from changes in both the average molecular weight MWom of the absorbing organic/water phase, and the compound-dependent activity coefficient zeta values. Adding water to the SOA phase by increasing the RH drives down MWom and thereby uniformly favors SOA condensation. The effect of RH on zeta values is compound specific and depends on the hydrophilicity of the specific compound of interest; the more hydrophilic a compound, the more increasing RH will favor its condensation into the SOA phase. The results also indicate that it may be a useful first approximation to assume that zeta = 1 for many compounds making up SOA mixtures.

Modeling the formation of secondary organic aerosol. 1. Application of theoretical principles to measurements obtained in the alpha-pinene/, beta-pinene/, sabinene/, delta3-carene/, and cyclohexane/ozone systems.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) forms in the atmosphere when volatile parent compounds are oxidized to form low-volatility products that condense to yield organic particulate matter (PM). Under conditions of intense photochemical smog, from 40 to 80% of the particulate organic carbon can be secondary in origin. Because describing multicomponent condensation requires a compound-by-compound identification and quantification of the condensable compounds, the complexity of ambient SOA has made it difficult to test the ability of existing gas/particle (G/P) partitioning theory to predict SOA formation in urban air. This paper examines that ability using G/P data from past laboratory chamber experiments carried out with five parent hydrocarbons (HCs) (four monoterpenes at 308 K and cyclohexene at 298 K) in which significant fractions (61-100%) of the total mass of SOA formed from those HCs were identified and quantified by compound. The model calculations were based on a matrix representation of the multicomponent, SOA G/P distribution process. The governing equations were solved by an iterative method. Input data forthe model included (i) deltaHC (microg m(-3)), the amount of reacted parent hydrocarbon; (ii) the alpha values that give the total concentration T (gas + particle phase, ng m(-3)) values for each product i according to Ti = 10(3) alphaideltaHC; (iii) estimates of the pure compound liquid vapor pressure pL(degrees) values (at the reaction temperature) for the products; and (iv) UNIFAC parameters for estimating activity coefficients in the SOA phase for the products as a function of SOA composition. The model predicts the total amount Mo (microg m(-3)) of organic aerosol that will form from the reaction of deltaHC, the total aerosol yield Y(= Mo/deltaHC), and the compound-by-compound yield values Yi. An impediment in applying the model is the lack of literature data on PL(degrees) values for the compounds of interest or even on pL(degrees) values for other, similarly low-volatility compounds. This was overcome in part by using the G/P data from the alpha-pinene and cyclohexene experiments to determine pL(degrees) values for use (along with a set of 14 other independent polar compounds) in calculating UNIFAC vapor pressure parameters that were, in turn, used to estimate all of the needed pL(degrees) values. The significant degree of resultant circularity in the calculations for alpha-pinene and cyclohexene helped lead to the good agreement that was found between the Yi values predicted by the model, and those measured experimentally for those two compounds. However, the model was also able to predict the aerosol yield values from beta-pinene, sabinene, and delta3-carene, for which there was significatly less circularity in the calculations, thereby providing evidence supporting the idea that given the correct input information, SOA formation can in fact be accurately modeled as a multicomponent condensation process.

Prenatal nicotine increases pulmonary alpha7 nicotinic receptor expression and alters fetal lung development in monkeys.

It is well established that maternal smoking during pregnancy is a leading preventable cause of low birth weight and prematurity. Less appreciated is that maternal smoking during pregnancy is also associated with alterations in pulmonary function at birth and greater incidence of respiratory illnesses after birth. To determine if this is the direct result of nicotine interacting with nicotinic cholinergic receptors (nAChRs) during lung development, rhesus monkeys were treated with 1 mg/kg/day of nicotine from days 26 to 134 of pregnancy. Nicotine administration caused lung hypoplasia and reduced surface complexity of developing alveoli. Immunohistochemistry and in situ alpha-bungarotoxin (alphaBGT) binding showed that alpha7 nAChRs are present in the developing lung in airway epithelial cells, cells surrounding large airways and blood vessels, alveolar type II cells, free alveolar macrophages, and pulmonary neuroendocrine cells (PNEC). As detected both by immunohistochemistry and by alphaBGT binding, nicotine administration markedly increased alpha7 receptor subunit expression and binding in the fetal lung. Correlating with areas of increased alpha7 expression, collagen expression surrounding large airways and vessels was significantly increased. Nicotine also significantly increased numbers of type II cells and neuroendocrine cells in neuroepithelial bodies. These findings demonstrate that nicotine can alter fetal monkey lung development by crossing the placenta to interact directly with nicotinic receptors on non-neuronal cells in the developing lung, and that similar effects likely occur in human infants whose mothers smoke during pregnancy.