Study Shows Cigarettes May Be
Contaminated With Deadly Bacteria

New research provides evidence that cigarettes contain a wide vareity of germs, including several forms of bacteria that cause dise ase in humans.

Some people have criticized the idea of infectious cigarettes, arguing that as tobacco burns, it would kill any germs present. But Sapkota is not so sure that’s true. The tobacco farthest from the burning tip might be a balmy temperature, from a bacterial point of view. And here’s “a really wild idea,” she says: What if the smoke particles traveling through the still-unburned part of a cigarette pick up some germs and then ferry them deeply into the lung, where they’re unlikely to be cleared? Wouldn’t that be the prescription for disease?

Since bacteria, viruses, and other germs are a common cause of inflammation in general (think about the white blood cells the body dispatches to fight an infection), researchers have begun investigating a possible link between cigarettes and disease.

"The commercially available cigarettes that we tested were chock full of bacteria, as we had hypothesized, but we didn't think we'd find so many that are infectious in humans," says researcher Amy R. Sapkota, an assistant professor in the University of Maryland's School of Public Health.

The study found the following bacteria to be present in cigarette tobacco:

Acinetobacter - associated with certain blood and lung infections
Bacillus - some types are associated with anthrax and food poisoning
Burkholderia - some strains c an cause respiratory infections
Clostridium - linked to food poisoning-related illnesses and lung infections
Klebsiella - associated with many kinds of lung, blood, and other infect ions
Pseudomonas aeruginosa - a specific type of bacteria that is responsible for 10% of hospital-acquired infections

"If these organisms can survive the smoking process -- and we believe they can -- then they could possibly go on to contribute to both infectious and chronic illnesses in both smokers and individuals who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke," Sapkota says.

Acinetobacter Baumannii - One of several potentially deadly bacteria found in cigarette tobacco.

Acinetobacter Baumannii Acinetobacter is a Gram-negative genus of Bacteria belonging to the Gammaproteobacteria. Non-motile, Acinetobacter species are oxidase-negative, and occur in pairs under magnification. They are important soil organisms where they contribute to the mineralisation of, for example, aromatic compounds. Acinetobacter are a key source of infection in debilitated patients in the hospital. Acinetobacter spp are widely distributed in nature. They are able to survive on various surfaces (both moist and dry) in the hospital environment, thereby being an major source of infection in debilitated patients. Occasional strains are isolated from foodstuffs and some are able to survive on various medical equipment and even on healthy human skin. [Source - Wikipedia.org]

Dr. Amy R. Sapkota received a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Amy R. Sapkota has a joint appointment with the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health Dr. Amy R. Sapkota and the Department of Epidemio logy and Biostatistics. Dr. Sapkota's research interests lie in the areas of microbial environmental exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology, with a focus on evaluating the complex relationships between the environment, food and water production systems, and human infectious diseases. [Source - University of Maryland]

Considering the dangers associated with smoking traditional tobacco, it makes sense to switch to Electronic Cigarettes.

 

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