Does switching from cigarettes to pipes or cigars reduce tobacco smoke exposure
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral MedicineDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1987-11-01Keywords
Breath TestsCarbon Monoxide
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Male
*Smoking
Thiocyanates
Life Sciences
Medicine and Health Sciences
Women's Studies
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Cigarette smoking histories, reported depth of inhalation, number of pipe and cigars (PC) smoked, serum thiocyanate (SCN) and expired air carbon monoxide (CO) levels were examined in PC male smokers enrolled in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). Serum SCN levels for all PC smokers were higher than for non-smokers and lower than for current cigarette smokers. Levels were related to the amount of product smoke. Prior cigarette smokers had higher SCN levels when compared to PC users who had never smoked cigarettes, smoked a larger number of tobacco products per day, and reported inhaling into the chest more often. Prospective data on baseline cigarette smokers demonstrated that smokers who stopped all tobacco products had a greater drop in SCN and CO than those who switched to PC. The findings strongly suggest that cessation of all tobacco products is the best strategy for decreasing exposure to tobacco smoke.Source
Am J Public Health. 1987 Nov;77(11):1412-6.