Our studies of lung cancer patients indicate a heretofore unknown effect of early age at smoking initiation on the level of smoking-induced DNA damage within the lungs of smokers detected years following smoking cessation. This association may indicate a heightened susceptibility to long-term damage during the period of rapid lung growth and development, providing an additional dimension to the adverse effects of youth smoking. Previous studies of adolescent girls and boys found that relatively small amounts of cigarette smoke cause deficits in lung function. Perceptions of the reversibility of smoking effects by the public may influence the uptake of smoking at early ages and compliance with policies aimed at limiting access by the young to tobacco products. Other research suggests increased smoking-induced cancer susceptibility among females for K-ras mutations, which was a strong predictor of poor survival among Stage I patients. Such gender specific risk may help deter young women from smoking initiation. Our NQO1 studies suggest a candidate gene that may contribute to higher cancer incidence among African-Americans. This ethnic minority suffers an unequal burden of tobacco related cancers. Recognizing such inequalities in society can serve to motivate anti-tobacco policy implementation and help target specific populations for intervention. In addition, monitoring susceptible populations can provide a sensitive means of evaluating the success of different policy measures. It is proposed that epidemiologic approaches that integrate traditional methods with the powerful new tools of molecular biology and genetics will increase the perceived validity of epidemiologic evidence and may aid tobacco control efforts.
Learning Objectives: assess environmental expsoures recognize susceptible populations evaluate public health policy
Keywords: Smoking, Environmental Exposures
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.