Changes in Cigarettes per Day and Biomarkers of Exposure Among US Adult Smokers in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Waves 1 and 2 (2013–2015)
Open Access
- 28 March 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Vol. 22 (10), 1780-1787
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa038
Abstract
Some studies have found some reduction in tobacco exposure and tobacco-related disease risk with decreased numbers of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD), but biomarker of exposure estimates by change in CPD are generally unavailable for the US population. We analyzed biomarker of exposure data by smoking status from over 1100 adult exclusive daily cigarette smokers in Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study who were either exclusive daily smokers or had quit tobacco use entirely at Wave 2. Wave 1 smoking categories consisted of “very light” (1–4 CPD), “light” (5–9 CPD), “moderate” (10–19 CPD), and “heavy” (20+ CPD), and Wave 2 categories were “quitters” (stopped smoking entirely), exclusive cigarette “reducers” (CPD decreased ≥ 50%), “maintainers” (CPD within 50%–150% of Wave 1 value), and “increasers” (CPD increased ≥ 50%). Complete quitters had significantly lower levels of TNE-2, NNAL, NNN, 2-Fluorene, HPMA, CYMA, and MHB3 at Wave 2 for all Wave 1 CPD categories, and decreases were often large. Moderate “reducers” had lower levels of NNAL and 1-Hydroxypyrene at Wave 2, and heavy “reducers” had lower levels of NNAL, 2-Fluorene, and MHB3. Light “increasers” had higher levels of TNE-2, NNAL, 2-Fluorene, CYMA, and cadmium at Wave 2, and heavy “increasers” had higher levels of NNAL and HPMA. Smoking “reducers” and “increasers” had changes in some biomarker of tobacco exposure levels, but reductions were much greater and more consistent for complete quitters. PATH longitudinal cohort study data show that some exclusive daily cigarette smokers increase or decrease CPD over time. These differences may result in moderate changes in the levels of some biomarkers such as NNAL. Even so, however, reductions in biomarker levels are much greater with complete smoking cessation.Funding Information
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- National Institutes of Health
- Food and Drug Administration (HHSN271201100027C)
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Does Smoking Reduction in Midlife Reduce Mortality Risk? Results of 2 Long-Term Prospective Cohort Studies of Men and Women in ScotlandAmerican Journal of Epidemiology, 2013
- 21st-Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United StatesThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2013
- Elimination Kinetics of the Tobacco-Specific Biomarker and Lung Carcinogen 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-Pyridyl)-1-ButanolCancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2009
- Evidence for endogenous formation of N′-nitrosonornicotine in some long-term nicotine patch usersNicotine & Tobacco Research, 2009
- Does smoking reduction increase future cessation and decrease disease risk? A qualitative reviewNicotine & Tobacco Research, 2006
- Smoking reduction, smoking cessation, and incidence of fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction in Denmark 1976-1998: a pooled cohort studyJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2003
- Tobacco harm reduction: Conceptual structure and nomenclature for analysis and researchNicotine & Tobacco Research, 2002
- Reduced smoking: an introduction and review of the evidenceAddiction, 2000
- Biochemistry, Biology, and Carcinogenicity of Tobacco-Specific N-NitrosaminesChemical Research in Toxicology, 1998
- Influence of Smoking Fewer Cigarettes on Exposure to Tar, Nicotine, and Carbon MonoxideThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1986