Smoking Puts DNA At Risk In 15 Minutes

Here's another reason to kick the habit: within minutes of inhaling, regular smokers produce chemicals that cause genetic damage linked with cancer.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in tobacco smoke are one of the main culprits behind lung cancer. In the body they form metabolites that react readily with DNA to produce mutations that in turn can cause tumours.

Stephen Hecht and colleagues at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis asked 12 volunteers with a history of smoking to smoke a cigarette laced with phenanthrene, a type of PAH that binds with DNA but is non-carcinogenic.

By collecting blood samples before, during and after smoking, the team were able to track the concentrations of phenanthrene metabolites and determine the speed at which they formed in the body.

The concentration of metabolites reached a peak around 15 to 30 minutes after smoke inhalation before tailing off, suggesting that cigarette smoke could potentially begin to affect genes within minutes of smoking beginning 

(Chemical Research in Toxicology)

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