Inhalation of steady-state sidestream smoke from one cigarette promotes arteriosclerotic plaque development.

BACKGROUNDA number of epidemiologic studies have suggested that every year environmental tobacco smoke (second-hand smoke) is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, mostly from heart disease, in the United States. Environmental tobacco smoke is composed mainly (80% to 85%) of aged and diluted sidestream smoke. The remainder is exhaled mainstream smoke. Among the thousands of compounds that have been identified in environmental tobacco smoke are a number of carcinogens, including polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogens, such as benzo(a)pyrene. We have demonstrated previously that a number of carcinogens, including benzo(a)pyrene, promote plaque development after injection into cockerels. There have been almost no studies showing a direct stimulatory effect of environmental tobacco smoke on plaque development. Recently we demonstrated that cockerels exposed to sidestream smoke for approximately 0.4% of their projected lifespan exhibited accelerated development of arteriosclerotic plaques. In that...