Lorillard
Chapter 8 Absorption of Smoke Constituents by Nonsmokers
Fields
- Author
- Brunnemann, K.D.
- Haley, N.J.
- Hoffmann, D.
- Haley, N.J.
- Type
- REPT, OTHER REPORT
- BIBL, BIBLIOGRAPHY
- CHAR, CHART/GRAPH/MAPS
- SCRT, SCIENTIFIC REPORT
- BIBL, BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Area
- SPEARS,ALEXANDER/OFFICE
- Site
- G65
- Request
- R1-037
- Named Organization
- Elisa
- Gc
- Hplc
- NCI, Natl Cancer Inst
- Ria
- Gc
- Named Person
- Ames
- Haley, N.J.
- Hoffmann, I.
- Lowrey
- Matsukura
- Repace
- Stadler, B.
- Yamasaki
- Haley, N.J.
- Date Loaded
- 18 Dec 2001
- Master ID
- 87808171/8434
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infants were on similar diets (they were not breastfed), the
influence of nutrition may not play as great a role in the case
of these infants but differences in the rates of uptake and
metabolism of nicotine and/or the urinary excretion rates of
cotinine were certainly established. The finding of relatively
high uptake of ETS, as determined by nicotine/cotinine
concentrations in the urine of infants, is in line with the
observation that infants of smokers have higher rates of
respiratory infections than infants in nonsmokers' homes (56).
I
Analytical data on nicotine and cotinine in physiological
fluids of nonsmokers can be misleading in a few cases. These
pertain to the very light smokers and those nonsmokers who either
chew tobacco or use oral snuff. It is possible, though rare,
that the very light smoker shows nicotine/cotinine levels
approaching those of passive smokers with extremely high ETS
exposure. When used in combination with cotinine measurements,
COHb analyses can help to differentiate between the two groups.
In regular consumers of snuff or chewing tobacco, cotinine levels
are comparable to those found in cigarette smokers while
thiocyanate levels and COHb values remain low (57).
The determination of nicotine and cotinine in hair has been
tried in an attempt to differentiate between active and passive
smokers (58). This determination revealed higher nicotine
concentrations in the hair of smokers than in the hair of ETS-
exposed nonsmokers and documented the absence of cotinine, the
major metabolite of nicotine, within the hairshaft of nonsmokers.
Hair sampling for determining ETS-exposure of nonsmokers deserves
as yet more thorough investigation.
In summary, in the hands of experienced biochemists, the
determination of nicotine and, especially, of cotinine in saliva,
serum and/or urine in involuntary smokers represents a reliable,
specific method for assaying the level of uptake of ETS by
nonsmokers. The choice of biological fluid for the quantitation
of cotinine depends upon the question asked. For the evaluation
of changes in smoking behavior, serum or urine are preferred
while saliva is sufficient to determine whether or not a proband
is a smoker (59). For studies of ETS exposure, it is often
impractical to collect serum by venipuncture, and since nicotine
concentration in saliva can be extremely high immediately
following ETS exposure, several hours must pass before the
concentration of cotinine in saliva is stabilized (30). Also,
when large numbers of probands are to be evaluated, it is
preferable to avoid invasive procedures which might discourage
participation and possibly bias the results.
Measurements of cotinine in urine and saliva have been
successfully used to quantitate ETS exposure in large
100

machine- smoked under identical conditions. Since the consumer
of the low- yield filter cigarettes is likely to smoke more
intensely, a larger portion of the tobacco column is burned
during smoking of this type of cigarette than is burned during
smoking of nonfilter cigarettes. Therefore, a somewhat lower
yield of SS is expected from the low-yield cigarette smoked bv
the consumer than is obtained by its standardized machine
smoking.
The exposure of nonsmokers to the effluents of burning
tobacco products usually occurs after considerable dilution of
these air pollutants. This is well substantiated by analyses
of the air in enclosed spaces polluted by tobacco smoke (10,11).
A. Biological Markers in Physiological Fluids
The exposure of nonsmokers to ETS can be assessed with the
help of questionnaires, by estimating the dose from the chemical
analysis of smoke-polluted air, by personal monitoring of ETS
components and/or by measuring the uptake of individual smoke
components in physiological fluids of individuals during or after
exposure. The last and most promising method will be discussed
in this chapter.
The degree of exposure to ETS depends on several factors,
including length of time spent in a smoke-polluted area, the
number of smokers within this area, the size and nature of the
space, the degree of ventilation and the respiratory rate of the
exposed individual. Thus, optimal assessment of ETS exposure is
achieved by analysis of physiological fluids of exposed
individuals rather than by analysis of the respiratory
environment. New biochemical methods enable us to quantify
exposure to ETS by determining the uptake of certain smoke
contstituents (or their metabolites) in biological fluids. An
ordinary requirement for such biochemical measurements is the
availability of highly sensitive methods. These should be
specific enough for quantitating exposure without interference by
other factors.
1. Nicotine and Cotinine.
Disregarding accidental or occupational exposure to tobacco
(12,13), or the use of nicotine-containing chewing gum or
nicotine aerosol rods as aids for smoking cessation (14), the
presence of nicotine and of its major metabolites in
physiological fluids is entirely due to the exposure to tobacco,
tobacco smoke, or ETS. Nicotine and its major metabolite,
cotinine, in saliva, blood or urine of active smokers and of
passively exposed nonsmokers are primarily determined by gas
chromatography (GC) with a nitrogen-sensitive detector, and by
radioimmunoassay (RIA) (15-17). An HPLC method which has been
developed for quantitation of cotinine in plasma or saliva of
96

populations. Cotinine excretion in urine is independent of pH,
while nicotine excretion is greatly influenced by it. At values
above pH 6.0, resorption of nicotine from the urine occurs
especially during longer residence time in the bladder. Cotinine
is not subject to resorption and, as far as it has been
investigated, 3'-hydroxycotinine, a second major nicotine
metabolite, is also not affected (60).
Quantitation of cotinine in spot urine samples can have
methodological problems relative to the volume of urine excreted
in any given time period as well as dilution effects. The ideal
standard for evaluation of cotinine excretion in urine would be
the analysis of a 24-hour urine sample. Since this is
impractical in epidemiological studies, random urine samples are
usually collected at the time a questionnaire is administered.
In this case, the ratio of cotinine to creatinine in a given
sample is often used to allow for differences in urine dilution.
Urinary creatinine excretion is usually constant from day to day
for a given individual, but it does vary among individuals. As a
reflection of muscle mass it is generally excreted at about 1 g
per day (men, 1.1 to 3.2 g/day7 women, 0.9 to 2.5 g/day). In
older persons, the excretion of creatinine may decrease to 0.5
g/day. Low levels of creatinine may also be found in dehydrated
infants; this necessitates caution in the expression of ng
cotinine/mg creatinine in a random sample (35). A recent study
with pre-school children has shown that cotinine/creatinine
ratios in passively exposed children 'track' over several weeks
and reflect questionnaire data on exposure (61).
2. Carbon Monoxide. Carbon monoxide (CO) is formed during
the combustion of organic matter including the burning of a
tobacco product. It is also produced in vivo during metabolic
processes. Endogenous CO results primarily from the breakdown of
heme-containing proteins such as hemoglobin. In nonsmokers who
are not exposed to industrial pyrolysis products or vehicle
emissions, the baseline levels of Co, present in the bloodstream
as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), are generally below 1.5% of the
total hemoglobin.
Persons exposed to heavy vehicle emissions can have COHb
levels up to about 2.5%. In cigarette smokers, COHb levels were
found to average 5.74 in a study of 450 smokers (62) with little
difference being noted between smokers of high- or low-yield
products. This value is similar to that of 4.7% found in middle
aged men in a study by Wald et al. (63).
Carboxyhemoglobin levels are not good indicators of ETS
uptake, due to the fact that CO exposure is not limited to
tobacco smoker in addition, the measurement of COHb is relatively
insensitive. A study in England did not find significant
differences in COAb levels in subjects reporting no exposure,
some exposure, or a lot of exposure (64). This was confirmed by
101

Most importantly, differences in the elimination times of
cotinine from urine preclude a direct extrapolation to "cigarette
equivalents of smoke uptake" by comparing the levels of cotinine
excreted by active and passive smokers. This has been discussed
by some investigators (10).
Table 3 includes comparisons of nicotine and cotinine in
physiological fluids of nonsmokers with or without ETS exposure,
and of active cigarette smokers in England (41). Data on the
uptake of nicotine by involuntary smokers from additional studies
are summarized in Table 4 (29,42-54). Most of these studies
demonstrate that nicotine and cotinine levels in physiological
fluids of involuntary smokers generally amount to 1 percent and
reach maximally a few percent of the amounts determined in active
cigarette smokers. Data by Matsukura et al. from Japan on the
other hand, show exceptionally high levels of cotinine in the
urine of passive smokers. This may be due to several factors
including differences in the design of studies (26). Aside from
differences in methodology.one cannot rule out that differences
in the uptake and metabolism of nicotine which have been observed
in various population groups, and diet may be partially
responsible for the exceptional data reported in the Japanese
study (47). In fact, a recent finding indicates that the urinary
excretion rates of Japanese smokers were significantly different
from those determined in adult cigarette smokers in Europe and
North America (55). This requires further thorough
investigation.
Survey data on exposure at home, in the workplace and on
social occasions were collected from 319 employed probands and
were correlated with levels of cotinine in a random urine sample.
Mean urine/cotinine/creatinine levels were higher for women than
for men possibly due to differences in creatinine excretion
between the sexes. It is also noteworthy that 94% of the women
were employed indoors. Higher levels of urinary cotinine were
noted in both men and women who lived with a smoker than in those
subjects who did not report living with a smoker (13.3±2.4 vs
5.1±0.4 in men and 13.9±1.9 vs. 5.(L0.6 in women). Differences
in the prevalence of exposure at home existed between sexes
(males 13.5% vs. females 29.2%). Levels of cotinine found across
different exposures indicate that home exposure has a more
pronounced effect on urine cotinine than does workplace exposure
(Table 5; N.J. Haley et al., unpublished data).
The nicotine uptake by infants due to ETS exposure, caused
by smoking mothers or caretakers, appears to be higher than that
observed in adult passive smokers. The amount of cotinine
excreted in the urine of the infants was correlated with the
number of cigarettes smoked by the mother, or caretaker, during
the 24 hours preceding the measurement (33). Since all of the
99

FIGURES AND TABLES FOR CEAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
ABSORPTION OF SMOKE CONSTITUENTS BY NONSMOKERS
Dietrich Hoffmann PhD, Klaus D. Brunnemann MSc,
and
Nancy J.Haley PhD
American Health Foundation,
Valhalla, New York 10595
i
INTRODUCTION
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) occurs at the
worksite, in public places, and in private homes. ETS is a
composite of efflUents-generated in various ways during the
burning of tobacco products. The major source for ETS is
sidestream smoke (56) which is formed during smouldering of
cigarettes, cigars and pipes between the taking of puffs. Minor
contributions to ETS are made by those pollutants of the
mainstream smoke (MS) that are exhaled after inhalation of each
puff by the active smoker. The smoke escaping into the air from
the burning cone and from the mouthpiece of a tobacco product
during and after puff-drawing is another minor contributor, and
there is some diffusion of MS gas phase components through the
cigarette paper into the environment.
In the laboratory, MS and SS are generated under
standardized conditions by machine smoking (1,2). While these
conditions enable us to compare the yields of individual smoke
constituents from various brands of cigarettes, cigars and pipe
tobacco, they do not fully reflect the patterns of smoking by
humans (3,4). The consumer's intensity of puff-drawing and
inhaling of the smoke is profoundly influenced by the nicotine
content of the MS (4,5), and smoking intensity is highest when
cigarettes with perforated filter tips are being smoked (6).
The SS release is governed by the velocity of air currents
around the burning cone; thus, higher air flow generates higher
yields of most SS components. Even though a major reduction of
mainstream smoke yields of the sales-weighted average cigarettes
has occurred during the last three decades, (U.S. cigarettes
declined from 35.5.mg tar in 1954 to 12 mg tar in 1983, 7), the
SS emissions of smoke constituents were not significantly reduced
(8,9). The data in Table 1 emphasize this with a comparison of
the yields of a select group of toxic compounds in the MS and SS
of four types of U.S. cigarettes. These cigarettes were
95

TABLES AND FIGURES FOR CHAPTER 8
~s
Gn
O
116 ob
W
CII
N

of these releases a keto alcohol (compound 5; Fig. I; 100). A
highly sensitive GC-MS method has been developed to facilitate
the detection of a derivative of compound 5. Refinement towards
further increased sensitivity of the method should lead to a
dosimetry assay allowing determination of the uptake of the
carcinogenic TSNA by passive smokers.
FUTURE NEEDS
The absorption of tobacco-specific smoke constituents from
ETS has been demonstrated through analyses of nicotine and its
major metabolite, cotinine in the body fluids of exposed
nonsmokers. Less tobacco-specific markers have also been
measured in exposed populations; however, the results were
ambiguous in regard to the quantitative uptake of ETS. There is
a need to provide information about the uptake and disposition of
carcinogenic constituents by individuals exposed to ETS in acute
and chronic situations. Analyses to be fully developed and
applied to passive smokers will include measurements of adducts
of genotoxic smoke constituents covalently bound to DNA or
hemoglobin. These techniques have been developed for
benzo(a)pyrene, 4-aminobiphenyl, ethylene, and tobacco-specific
N- nitrosamines. It is not known whether or not all of these
methods can be made sufficiently sensitive to monitor the uptake
of tobacco-specific components from ETS.
Nicotine in ETS is predominantly present in the vapor phase
of the smoke rather than bound to the aerosol particles. In
order to measure the uptake of carcinogens and toxins residing in
the particulate phase of ETS, deposition studies must be
developed with specific markers. Particulate phase constituents
which could be quantitated include tobacco-specific N-
nitrosamines, polyphenols, such as the immunoactive compound
rutin, or the tobacco-specific solanesol.(101) However, the
levels of these compounds are expected to be low so that
development of suitable methodology calls for highly sensitive
detection methods.
ACIQiOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Ilse Hoffmann and Bertha Stadler for editorial
assistance. Our studies are supported by Grants No. CA-29580,
CA-44377 and CA-32617 from the National Cancer Institute.
106

smokers (18) has not been applied to urine analysis even though
the analysis of this biological fluid appears to have the
greatest potential for evaluation of nicotine uptake by
nonsmokers. A recently published, highly sensitive method for
determining nicotine in plasma by HPLC with dual electrochemical
detection (2 ng/ml) has not as yet been applied to physiological
samples of involuntary smokers (19). Another emerging analytical
method for the determination of nicotine or cotinine is the
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EISSA; 20). While the latter
two methods appear to be suitable for assays in smokers, they
have not yet attained the sensitivity necessary for evaluation of
uptake of ETS obtained in current GC or RIA analyses.
Trans-3'-hydroxycotinine has been found to be the most
abundant nicotine metabolite in the urine of active smokers
(21), however, it is difficult to quantitate this compound.
Since the compound is not readily soluble it has to be
transformed into a heptafluoro derivative prior to GC detection
(22). The levels of 3'-hydroxycotinine in plasma have been found
to be much lower than those of cotinine in the same smokers
although the renal excretion of 3'-hydroxycotinine has been
reported to be greater (23). Despite its abundance in urine of
smokers, this compound has not yet been applied to the analysis
of ETS uptake by nonsmokers.
The GC and RIA methods are most widely used for assaying
nicotine and cotinine in active as well as in passive smokers,
primarily becauseof their specificity and sensitivity, and
because the needed instrumentation is available in most modern
laboratories. Chromatographic methods, especially those using GC
with nitrogen-phosphorus detectors (detection limit 0.1 ng/ ml
fluid; 16), or a mass-spectral detection system, offer greatest
specificity and high sensitivity; however, they require expensive
instrumentation and technical expertise and they are rather labor
intensive. Since the air as well as glassware in laboratories
may contain traces of nicotine, the chromatographic methods
require the utmost precautions to avoid contamination of samples.
The RIA techniques are operationally simpler, less expensive
and require smaller samples (detection limit 0.35 ng/sample: 17).
More than 50 nicotine metabolites and structurally-related
molecules have been tested as inhibitors of nicotine and cotinine
antigen-antibody reactions; none of them interfer with the RIA
(24). Nevertheless, the potential for cross-reactivity with
unknown endogenous components exists. The fact that, upon
analysis, thousands of samples obtained from nonsmokers in the US
and UK have been found to be negative, indicates that diets and
drugs commonly used in these two countries do not pose problems
of interference. There is good correlation between results
obtained by GC and RIA analysis for plasma cotinine
concentrations (r-0.99; 25).
97

TABLE 13. Estimated average nonsmokers' exposures to RSP from
ETS at home and at work.(Repace and Lowrey, 1985) The
concentrations are calculated for model home and workplace
microenvironments and are weighted by average respiration rates
and time budget-studies for percent of time spent at home and at
work by male and female nonsmokers. The typical nonsmoker is
estimated to be exposed to from 0 to 14 mq of RSP from ETS per
day, with an average exposure-of 1.5 mg/day.
--------------__-_------_-~
------------------------------Ar
Lifestyle:
Daily Average Probability of Being Exposed
/Rounded Values)
Modeled
Daily Average Exposure (mg)
Daily
ProbabilityWeiBheed
At work and at home: °'a 63 x 62 >< 39 2.27 0.89
Neither at work nor at home: eo 37 x 38 - 14 0.00 0.00
At home but not at work: ne 62 x 37 : 23 0.43 0.10
At work but not at home: We 63 x 38 : 24 1.82 0.44
Tocal: % l00 1.43
The average nonexclusive probability of a nonsmoker being exposed
to ETS at work is estimated as 63%; the probability of not being
exposed at work is 37%, the nonexclusive probability of being
exposed to ETS at home is estimated as 62%; the probability of
not being exposed at home is 38%.
----°------------------------------------°-------------------
92 n

also be increased in involuntary smokers (77,78).
The data for NPRO in the urine of a limited number of
involuntary smokers were not different from NPRO data for
nonsmokers without ETS-exposure. A carefully designed study with
a larger number of passive smokers may prove that the average
value for NPRO or, more likely, for NTPRO is higher in ETS-
exposed nonsmokers than in those without ETS-exposure. However,
it is unlikely that the determination of N-nitrosamino acids in
urine would ever lead to an assay for personal dosimetry of ETS-
exposure.
6. Aromatic Amines. The sidestream smoke of cigarettes
contains significantly larger quantities of aromatic amines than
the mainstream smoke. For example, the MS of a nonfilter
cigarette contains 0.36 ug aniline and 0.16 ug of 2-toluidine,
whereas the SS of the same cigarette releases 10.8 ug of aniline
and 4.1±3.2 ug of 2-toluidine (79). The urine of cigarette
smokers contains somewhat higher amounts of aromatic amines than
the urine of nonsmokers. The 24-hour urine void of cigarette
smokers contains 3.1±2.6 ug aniline and 6.3±3.7 ug 2-toluidine,
while the urine of nonsmokers contains 2.8±2.5 ug aniline and
4.1±3.2 ug 2-toluidine (80). The levels of metabolites of these
aromatic amines are expected to be markedly higher in the urine
of smokers than of nonsmokers. Confirmation of the significance
of this difference would encourage the development of analytical
dosimetry for evaluation of the impact of ETS-exposure on urinary
excretion of the metabolites of aromatic amines.
7. Thioethers in Urine. Cigarette smokers excrete higher
amounts of thioethers than do nonsmokers (81). A study of 26
cigarette smokers showed mean urinary thioether values of 4.3±0.4
mmol/mol creatinine compared to an equivalent mean value for 10
nonsmokers of 2.8±0.2 mmol/mol creatinine (82).
In another study nonsmokers were placed on a controlled diet
and were subjected to 8-hr ETS-exposure at two levels of
concentration. Prior to ETS exposure 10 nonsmokers excreted
40.0±15.4 umol thioethers/24 hrs. The levels rose to 53.9±22.8
umol after exposure to ETS dose 1 (10 ppm CO). At a higher dose
level (20-22 ppm CO), pre-exposure values were 69.3±36.3 and
post- exposure levels 90.7±44.8. The 10 cigarette smokers who
smoked 20 cigarettes each during 8 hrs in order to provide the
ETS pollution in the chamber showed an increase of thioether
excretion from 89.1±24.8 to 136.1±38.9 umol/24 hrs (67). In
other words, the urinary thioether excretion of the passive
smokers in this study increased up to 45% and, in the case of the
active smokers with the same ETS exposure it increased about 50-
65%. These findings require confirmation but they appear to
indicate that the thioether analysis of the urine will most
likely not be suitable for the determination of the ETS uptake by
involuntary smokers.
103
