The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60911

Valerie B. Yerger, MA, ND, Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390, (415) 476-2784, valyer@itsa.ucsf.edu and Ruth E. Malone, RN, PhD, Dept. of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390.

The search for clues to explain the disproportionate harms from tobacco-related disease experienced by black smokers as compared to whites has focused on differences in smoking patterns and behaviors, including, for example, African Americans’ preference for menthol cigarettes. Research has also focused on nicotine metabolism, and there have been attempts to explain biochemical differences observed between black and white smokers. However, differential distribution of melanin has received less attention. Nicotine metabolism has been of interest to researchers since the 1950s. In the 1960s investigators began observing the tissue distribution of radioactive nicotine using autoradiography. In the 1970s, two investigators stumbled upon the discovery that nicotine has an affinity for melanin. Subsequent industry-funded studies by different investigators supported nicotine’s accumulation in melanin-containing tissue. Other research suggests that nicotine is accepted as a precursor in the formation of new melanin, due possibly to a structural resemblance to melanin’s main precursor, indole-5,6-quinone. We searched the online tobacco industry documents archives made available through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement beginning with the search term “melanin”. Using a snowball approach, we explored what the tobacco industry knows about the distribution of nicotine in the body and its affinity for melanin-containing tissues. Funding: National Cancer Institute (CA87472), California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (11BT-1701).

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will:
• Explain how tobacco industry documents can reveal the industry’s interest in particular research areas worthy of further study.
• Discuss possible links between melanin and nicotine metabolism which may help explain health disparities among people of color.
• Describe how the industry may respond to and use scientific information.

Keywords: Tobacco, Ethnic Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.