TY - JOUR
T1 - Benzene uptake in hookah smokers and non-smokers attending hookah social events
T2 - Regulatory implications
AU - Kassem, Nada O.F.
AU - Kassem, Noura O.
AU - Jackson, Sheila R.
AU - Liles, Sandy
AU - Daffa, Reem M.
AU - Zarth, Adam T.
AU - Younis, Maram A.
AU - Carmella, Steven G.
AU - Hofstetter, C. Richard
AU - Chatfield, Dale A.
AU - Matt, Georg E.
AU - Hecht, Stephen S.
AU - Hovell, Melbourne F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Association for Cancer Research.
PY - 2014/12/1
Y1 - 2014/12/1
N2 - Background: Benzene is a human hematotoxicant and a leukemogen that causes lymphohematopoietic cancers, especially acute myelogenous leukemia. We investigated uptake of benzene in hookah smokers and non-smokers attending hookah social events in naturalistic settings where hookah tobacco was smoked exclusively.Methods: We quantified S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), a metabolite of benzene, in the urine of 105 hookah smokers and 103 non-smokers. Participants provided spot urine samples the morning of and the morning after attending an indoor hookah-only smoking social event at a hookah lounge or in a private home.Results: Urinary SPMA levels in hookah smokers increased significantly following a hookah social event (P < 0.001). This increase was 4.2 times higher after hookah lounge events (P < 0.001) and 1.9 times higher after home events (P = 0.003). In non-smokers, urinary SPMA levels increased 2.6 times after hookah lounge events (P = 0.055); however, similar urinary SPMA levels were detected before and after home events, possibly indicating chronic exposure to benzene (P = 0.933).Conclusions: Our data provide the first evidence for uptake of benzene in hookah smokers and non-smokers exposed to hookah tobacco secondhand smoke at social events in private homes compared with their counterparts in hookah lounges. Hookah tobacco smoke is a source of benzene exposure, a risk factor for leukemia.Impact: Because there is no safe level of exposure to benzene, our results call for interventions to reduce or prevent hookah tobacco use, regulatory actions to limit hookah-related exposure to toxicants including benzene, initiate labeling of hookah-related products, and include hookah smoking in clean indoor air legislation.
AB - Background: Benzene is a human hematotoxicant and a leukemogen that causes lymphohematopoietic cancers, especially acute myelogenous leukemia. We investigated uptake of benzene in hookah smokers and non-smokers attending hookah social events in naturalistic settings where hookah tobacco was smoked exclusively.Methods: We quantified S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), a metabolite of benzene, in the urine of 105 hookah smokers and 103 non-smokers. Participants provided spot urine samples the morning of and the morning after attending an indoor hookah-only smoking social event at a hookah lounge or in a private home.Results: Urinary SPMA levels in hookah smokers increased significantly following a hookah social event (P < 0.001). This increase was 4.2 times higher after hookah lounge events (P < 0.001) and 1.9 times higher after home events (P = 0.003). In non-smokers, urinary SPMA levels increased 2.6 times after hookah lounge events (P = 0.055); however, similar urinary SPMA levels were detected before and after home events, possibly indicating chronic exposure to benzene (P = 0.933).Conclusions: Our data provide the first evidence for uptake of benzene in hookah smokers and non-smokers exposed to hookah tobacco secondhand smoke at social events in private homes compared with their counterparts in hookah lounges. Hookah tobacco smoke is a source of benzene exposure, a risk factor for leukemia.Impact: Because there is no safe level of exposure to benzene, our results call for interventions to reduce or prevent hookah tobacco use, regulatory actions to limit hookah-related exposure to toxicants including benzene, initiate labeling of hookah-related products, and include hookah smoking in clean indoor air legislation.
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U2 - 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0576
DO - 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0576
M3 - Article
C2 - 25416714
AN - SCOPUS:84919330345
SN - 1055-9965
VL - 23
SP - 2793
EP - 2809
JO - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
JF - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
IS - 12
ER -