Message to the Smokers

There are two compounds of interest in tobacco smoke: nicotine and benzpyrene. Noctine is the stimulant that produces the mild euphoria associated with smoking (especially cigarettes), and benzpyrene is the carcinogenic (cancer causing) material. Nicotine is a highly toxic material with an LD50 in rates of 0.05 gm/kg. As little as 0.001 gm/kg can kill a rat and only 0.04 gm can kill a human being. It is used commercially as an insecticide. Each cigarret contains 0.005 to 0.005 gm (1.5 to 0.5 mg) nicotine. Benzpyrene compound 2 is formed when tobacco is burned and is the most dangerous component of “tar”, a dark, sticky material found not only in tobacco smoke but also in burning leaves and grass and burned and charcoal-broiled foods. A cigarette yields 5 to 20 mg of tar. Enzymes (ENZ1) in the body convert benzpyrene to the alcohol epoxide as shown in scheme 1. Compound 3 is the primary carcinogen” the material that actually changes in the DNA. The mutant (abnormal) DNA causes the cells to grow in a grotesque and rapid manner, and a malignant tumor results. There is another enzyme (ENZ2) that can destroy compound 3 and prevent it from initiating cancer. Current evidence suggests that the relative amount of these two enzymes that determine if cancer will actually occur in a person who smokes. The hypothesis is that person has a large amounts of ENZ1 and a little of ENZ2, much more compound 3 is formed than is destroyed, and a high level of compound 3 remains to react with DNA, If a person, apparently because of hereditary factors, has about equal amount of ENZ1 and ENZ2, which means that compound 3 is destroyed about as fast as it is formed. The chance of cancer is smaller. This is the best explanation to date for the observation that some people, who smoke do not get cancer. While some who smoke do. A series of studies have shown that about 45% of the population have a favorable enzyme ratio and are low risk. Another 45% have about 15 times as much ENZ1 as ENZ2 and have a significant risk of getting cancer if they smoke. The remaining 10% have 30 times as much ENZ1 as ENZ2 and are at high risk. Chemical tests for ENZ1 levels are available only for research purposes at this time, and they are not very reliable. The best way to find your probable level is to consider the smoking habits of and cancer incidence in, your older relatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Elgazwy in a few lines; (B.Sc. M.Sc. Ph.D) Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt and Now joined our Institute of Biochemistry University of Balochistan (UOB) as a Foreign Professor approved supervisors by HEC (http://www.hec.gov.pk) and earned two projects funded by UOB and HEC. Regional Editor/Referees of two European science journals and one in American science journal. N.B., He has received a number of awards; 1. Novartis Drug. Comp. in (EU) for industrial Postdoc fellowship awarded 1998 2. MST (Portugal) awarded (1999), 3. Seneca foundacion (Spain) awarded (2001), 4. Ministry of Education (Spain) awarded (2002-2003). Further information will be available in his Webpage http://asunet.shams.eun.eg/people/profpage/hamad.htm

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