Hurt, R. Douglas

A rapid method for measuring nicotine concentration in serum and urine is described. Deuterated nicotine is used as an internal standard. Nicotine and deuterated nicotine are extracted using a copolymeric-bonded phase silica column. The extract is analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The method has a lower limit of detection of approximately 2 μg/L and is linear to at least 2000 μg/L. Within-run percentage coefficients of variation (% CV) are < 4 in both assays over a nicotine concentration range of 10–2000 μg/L. Between-run %CV in the serum assay are 5.4, 5.2, 4.8 and 5.9, respectively, at nicotine concentrations of 10, 15, 25, and 50 μg/L. Between-run %CV in the urine assay are 5.9, 4.5, 2.7 and 5.2, respectively, at nicotine concentrations of 100, 250, 500, and 2000 μg/L. The absolute recovery of nicotine is 61±+6% (mean±SD) over the range of 10–250 μg/L. The assay has been used to measure serum nicotine concentrations and 24-h urinary excretion of nicotine to monitor the extent of replacement in subjects receiving transdermal nicotine therapy for smoking cessation.

Abstract Previous research has suggested that nicotine may be therapeutically useful in the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing. The development of transdermal nicotine delivery systems has allowed us to test the overnight effectiveness of nicotine. Twenty nonsmoking subjects (10 men, 10 women) were recruited on the basis of a history of habitual snoring that was confirmed by overnight laboratory monitoring. Subjects were then randomized (double-blind crossover design) to receive either placebo or an active patch that delivers 11 mg of nicotine over a 24-h period. Patches were applied at 6 P.M. and removed at 6 A.M. the following morning, at which time venous blood was obtained for determination of serum nicotine concentrations. Polysomnography was performed using standard techniques to assess sleep architecture and sleep-disordered breathing. Snoring was monitored with a sound-level meter and quantitatively analyzed to determine the snoring index (SI) (number of snores per hour of sleep) and mean and maximum snoring intensities. The age of the subjects was 46.9 +/- 11.4 yr (mean +/- SD) and their mean body mass index (BMI) 33.3 +/- 4.6 kg/m2. A mean nicotine level was nondetectable with placebo and 7.8 +/- 2.3 ng/ml with wearing of an active patch. Nicotine decreased total sleep time (TST) by 33 min (p &lt; or 0.01), sleep efficiency from 89.7 to 83.5% (p &lt; or = 0.01), and percent rapid eye movement (REM) sleep from 18.8 to 15.1% (p &lt; or = 0.01), and prolonged initial sleep latency (ISL) from 6.7 to 18.2 min (p &lt; or = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A review of internal tobacco company documents showed that the tobacco company Philip Morris and the insurance company CIGNA collaborated to censor accurate information on the harm of smoking and on environmental tobacco smoke exposure from CIGNA health newsletters sent to employees of Philip Morris and its affiliates. From 1996 to 1998, 5 of the 8 CIGNA newsletters discussed in the internal tobacco documents were censored. We recommend that accrediting bodies mandate that health plans not censor employee-directed health information at the request of employers.

Objectives. This review details the tobacco industry's scientific campaign aimed against policies addressing environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and efforts to undermine US regulatory agencies from approximately 1988 to 1993. Methods. The public availability of more than 40 million internal, once-secret tobacco company documents allowed an unedited and historical look at tobacco industry strategies. Results. The analysis showed that the tobacco industry went to great lengths to battle the ETS issue worldwide by camouflaging its involvement and creating an impression of legitimate, unbiased scientific research. Conclusions. There is a need for further international monitoring of industry-produced science and for significant improvements in tobacco document accessibility.

The major tobacco manufacturers discovered that polonium was part of tobacco and tobacco smoke more than 40 years ago and attempted, but failed, to remove this radioactive substance from their products. Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that the companies suppressed publication of their own internal research to avoid heightening the public’s awareness of radioactivity in cigarettes. Tobacco companies continue to minimize their knowledge about polonium-210 in cigarettes in smoking and health litigation. Cigarette packs should carry a radiation-exposure warning label.