Transcript Marlboro Preliminary Trials Smoke Sampling Trials

The Fate of Bacteria Found in Cigarettes Through the Smoking Process:
A Novel Source of Direct Bacterial Exposure
David Gaiteri, Department of Biological Sciences, York College of Pennsylvania
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Results
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Currently, there are over 1.2 billion smokers in the world
(Chaloupka, 1999). More than 15 billion cigarettes are sold
daily; around 10 million every minute.
Smoking is the primary cause of preventable disease and
death, killing one in ten adults, or 4.9 million individuals
annually. A smoker’s lifespan is cut down by five minutes or
more for each cigarette that is smoked (World Health
Organization 2002). Secondhand smoke is responsible for
53,000 additional deaths per annum (Schick and Glantz
2005).
 Determine whether viable bacteria present on the tobacco of
cigarettes are transferred through mainstream smoke, and
could represent a potential source of direct bacterial exposure
to individuals who smoke.
Methods
opened Marlboro carton.
Figure 2. Bacterial growth from tobacco flakes and
particulate matter collected from the cigarettes butts
pictured in Figure 1.
Marlboro Preliminary Trials
100
Cigarette Butts
0.45M Membrane Filter
80
60
40
20
0
Combustion
Trials
Vacuum
Trials
Static
Trials
Figure 3. Percentage of successful bacterial cultures observed in preliminary Marlboro trials (n=10/condition). Combustion Trials: Bacterial
growth on cigarette butts (100%), but no growth on membrane filters. Vacuum Trials: Bacterial growth on cigarette butts (60%) and membrane
filters (20%). Static Trials: No bacterial growth on cigarette butts or membrane filters.
Percentage of smoke samples
yeilding bacterial growth
Smoke Sampling Trials
Cigarette smoke is known to be a toxic mixture of over 4,000
chemicals harmful to humans (World Health Organization
2002). Exposure to these compounds alters respiratory
physiology, leads to immunosuppression, and enhances
binding of pathogens to epithelial cells (Ahmer et al. 1999,
Pauly et al. 2008).
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Marboro
Camel
Newport Pall Mall
Figure 4. Percentage of successful bacterial extractions in puff-sampling smoking
trials (n=7/brand). Bacteria were extracted from Marlboro (43%), Camel (14%),
Newport (14%), and Pall Mall (29%) smoke samples
Figure 5. Bacterial samples cultured from mainstream cigarette smoke.
 Bacteria extracted from the mainstream smoke of each cigarette brand.
 Bacterial growth in one-quarter (25%) of all trials.
Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are the most
common complaint leading individuals to seek medical
attention in the United States. While it has been noted that
smokers have higher rates of ARTIs than the general
populace, the mechanism behind this trend is not well
described (Aronson et al. 1982).
Discussion
Bacterial growth was observed from tobacco flakes and
micro-particulate matter in 90% of culture trials (Pauly et al.
2008).
16S rRNA-based taxonomic sequencing identified fifteen
classes of bacteria in four major international brands of
cigarettes (Sapkota et al. 2010). Medically relevant
pathogens included Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium,
Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Staphylococcus.
What is the effect of combustion and the smoking process
on the bacteria present in commercially available
cigarettes?
 Bacterial growth observed in all tobacco flake and dilution trials
Figure 1. Tobacco flakes on the cigarette butts of a newly
Smoking is a leading risk factor in heart disease, stroke,
cancers (including those of the lungs, larynx, esophagus,
mouth, bladder, cervix, pancreas, and kidneys), chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, asthma,
emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and acute respiratory
infections (Aronson et al. 1982, World Health Organization
2002, and Yanbaeva et al. 2007).
There have been no published studies examining the
bacterial content of cigarette smoke.
Tobacco Cultures
Percentage of samples
positive for bacterial growth
Introduction
Research Objective:
Literature Cited
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my research mentor Dr. David Singleton and the Biological Science Department at York College of Pennsylvania.
Tobacco flakes and particulate matter found on cigarette
butts could easily be transferred to the respiratory tract of
smokers.
Air drawn through cigarettes, without combustion is
sufficient to transfer bacteria from the tobacco to the
cigarette butts and into the mainstream air flow.
Bacteria can be transferred through mainstream cigarette
smoke.
Survival of bacteria present in cigarette smoke is related to
the relative concentration of toxic compounds per unit
exposed surface area.
Bacteria in mainstream smoke can survive the combustion
and smoking process.
The implications of these findings raise questions regarding
additional consequences of secondhand and thirdhand
smoke exposure.
In conclusion, bacteria present in cigarettes can be
transferred into mainstream smoke, presenting a novel
means for direct bacterial exposure among smokers linked
to elevated rates of respiratory infections.