Recent studies published in Environmental Health Perspective journal have shown that
cigarettes contain a significant amount of bacteria that include strains that are know to be pathogenic to humans and are linked to respiratory infections. This study is unique in that it implicated cigarettes in playing a role in introducing potentially pathogenic microbes into the lungs. Smoking is known to harm nearly every organ of the human body and is a potential source of many diseases that affect both smokers and secondhand smokers as well. In addition, smoking is linked to almost a tenfold increase in the risk of dying from complications that were brought on by COPD, and is responsible for almost 90% of all deaths that were a result of COPD. It has been known that bacteria is present in tobacco leaves, but what makes this study intriguing is that few studies were actually performed to look at the bacterial communities that are associated with tobacco, instead, most studies were directed towards looking at the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. The study found that close to 700 bacterial strains were identified in well-known tobacco brands, and researchers found concluded that no one brand contained significantly different amounts of bacterial when compared to others. Such large presence of bacteria is attributed primarily to the fermentation process that tobacco undergoes, where bacteria is concentrated to an amount close to 1 million bacteria per cigarette. Moreover, the study team found fifteen different classes of potentially pathogenic organisms that varied from Acinetobacter to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Surprisingly, these pathogenic strains were found in almost 90% of all cigarette samples tested. Researchers concluded that smokers are inhaling living bacteria that can potentially lead to diseases such as COPD and inflammations associated with cancerous tumors.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cigarettes-smoking-bacteria-infection-pathogen
cigarettes contain a significant amount of bacteria that include strains that are know to be pathogenic to humans and are linked to respiratory infections. This study is unique in that it implicated cigarettes in playing a role in introducing potentially pathogenic microbes into the lungs. Smoking is known to harm nearly every organ of the human body and is a potential source of many diseases that affect both smokers and secondhand smokers as well. In addition, smoking is linked to almost a tenfold increase in the risk of dying from complications that were brought on by COPD, and is responsible for almost 90% of all deaths that were a result of COPD. It has been known that bacteria is present in tobacco leaves, but what makes this study intriguing is that few studies were actually performed to look at the bacterial communities that are associated with tobacco, instead, most studies were directed towards looking at the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. The study found that close to 700 bacterial strains were identified in well-known tobacco brands, and researchers found concluded that no one brand contained significantly different amounts of bacterial when compared to others. Such large presence of bacteria is attributed primarily to the fermentation process that tobacco undergoes, where bacteria is concentrated to an amount close to 1 million bacteria per cigarette. Moreover, the study team found fifteen different classes of potentially pathogenic organisms that varied from Acinetobacter to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Surprisingly, these pathogenic strains were found in almost 90% of all cigarette samples tested. Researchers concluded that smokers are inhaling living bacteria that can potentially lead to diseases such as COPD and inflammations associated with cancerous tumors.http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cigarettes-smoking-bacteria-infection-pathogen
