Breathing secondhand smoke for 30 minutes can destroy cells

A study by the University of California San Francisco found that indirect exposure to cigarette smoke, even for a short time, was harmful to health.

According to the new study, indirect inhalation of cigarette smoke in pubs within 30 minutes is enough to damage blood vessels in young people and non-smoking lifelong people. Along with vascular lesions, exposure to cigarette smoke can also limit the function of the body's natural self-healing system to work on the damaged surface of the blood vessels. lasts up to 24 hours later.

The results of the study are published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and will be published in the June issue of the paper.

The results showed that even only short-term passive exposure to actual smoke levels could have serious and long-term consequences for the body's vascular system.

According to the new study, indirect inhalation of cigarette smoke in pubs within 30 minutes is enough to damage blood vessels in young people and non-smoking lifelong people.(Photo: iStockphoto)

In the study, participants were exposed to indirect exposure in a controlled smoke environment under study conditions. The amount of research smoke is equal to the amount in a pub where smoking is usually allowed within 30 minutes. The United States or some other countries like Germany have 51% of the population allowed to go to the bar. Participants in the study were also exposed to clean air the other day.

In both environments, the researchers examined the participants' blood vessel status by ultrasound to measure blood flow and analyze blood samples. In a smoke-free environment, the test is carried out before the specified limit is reached. Immediately after exposure, 1 hour, 2 hours and a half after 24 hours of contact, the re-participant is checked. Participating in the study were 10 adults aged 29 to 31.
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The pioneering study in this area has found a link between vascular injury and the diminishing effect of the body's self-healing mechanism called the endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). EPCs are circulating stem cells in the blood that play a key role in the repair mechanism of damaged blood vessels.

Researchers investigated three effects of indirect exposure to smoke:
_ effects from tobacco smoke on the mechanical function of blood vessels
_ whether smoke can increase some blood components due to damaged blood vessels
_ Does smoking cause any effect on stem cells (EPCs) that form the self-healing mechanism of blood vessels in the body?

Dr. Yerem Yeghiazarians and program director of Translational Cardiovascular Stem Cells at the University of California (San Francisco) said: 'We want to find the effect of indirect exposure to smoke in the room for 30 minutes. Healthy people can damage the blood vessels and how the body's self-healing system (EPCs) can be affected by that exposure. '

According to him, the consequences of indirect exposure to tobacco smoke have many levels.' Even short indirect contact times not only cause blood vessels to hurt but also affect the body's ability to repair itself by disturbing the operation of the EPCs. Surprisingly, even indirect exposure within 30 minutes can have such great consequences . ' Research has also shown that the negative effects remain in the body until 24 hours later, much longer than what we still think.

Research demonstrates that exposure to tobacco reduces the function of EPCs.'The study is a two-hit arrow because it has been discovered that not only do humans cause vascular damage, but also that cells that play the role of injury recovery are also dysfunctional and exacerbated. more hurt '.

According to Yeghiazarians, the significance to the public health of research is immense.'Our research helps explain why the number of hospitalizations for heart attacks is reduced by 20% when states and cities pass laws that allow some work areas, restaurants and pubs to be smoked.'

The study also demonstrated no existence of a safe exposure threshold for secondhand smoke. Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, American Heart Association, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation and the UCSF Cardiac Stem Cell fund. In addition to Yeghiazarians, Dr. Christian Heiss and Dr. Nicolas Amabile also participated in the study (two people who collaborated at the heart department - Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco).

Besides, Andrew C. Lee, Wendy May Real, Suzaynn F. Schick, David Lao, Maelene L. Wong, Sarah Jahn, Franca S. Angel, Petros Minasi, Matthew L. Springer, Stanton Glantz, William Grossman, John Balmes (Department of Health at University of California San Francisco) and Katharine Hammond (School of Environmental Health - School of Public Health - California Berkeley University).