Passive smoking: detection of specific tobacco carcinogens in the urine of infants exposed

U.S. researchers have revealed the presence of specific tobacco carcinogens in the urine of nearly half of babies exposed to passive smoking, we learn in "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention" magazine.
According to the study which examined 144 infants, 47% of those exposed to tobacco smoke carcinogens parents had detectable levels of NNAL in their urine. This compound, whose chemical name is méthylnitrosaminopyridylbutanol is a known carcinogen, from the transformation by another specific tobacco carcinogen, NNK (méthylnitrosaminopyridylbutanone) organization.

"The rate of NNAL detected in the urine of infants was higher than that observed in most studies on passive smoking in children and adults," says Professor Stephen Hecht, from the University of Minnesota.

He added that the "NNAL is a recognized carcinogen NNK tobacco specific biomarker. You will not find this compound NNAL in urine except in individuals exposed to tobacco smoke, whether adults, children or infants."

The entourage of children in whom the researchers detected the presence of carcinogenic compound in the urine smoked on average 76 cigarettes per week (about 1/2 pack a day), at home or in the car, in the presence of the infant. For families of babies in which researchers did not detect the presence of NNAL, tobacco consumption in the presence of the baby was much smaller, amounting to 27 cigarettes per week (4 per day).

However, says Dr. Hecht, more sensitive analytical equipment probably would detect the presence of NNAL in the urine of babies whose family has a consumption of less cigarettes.

For the researcher, "These results support the idea that chronic exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during childhood may be linked to the subsequent development of cancer." He invites adults to never smoke in the presence of children.