Smoking can alter genes to cause cancer

New research has found that exposure to cigarette smoke can harm gene expression – resulting in damaging the immune system and raising the risk of cancer, cell death and metabolic problems.

In light of this new study, UAE residents who smoke are being urged to seek help on how to quit as soon as possible.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in Texas, USA, uncovered the association by identifying links between the specific expression patterns of 323 genes (all located within white blood cells) among a pool of 1,240 people including 297 current smokers.

Gene expression is the process by which a gene’s information translates into the structures and functions of a cell.

“Our results indicate that not only individual genes but entire networks of gene interaction are influenced by cigarette smoking,” said author Jac Charlesworth.

“The scale at which exposure to cigarette smoke appears to influence the expression levels of our genes is sobering.”

Charlesworth, formerly of SFBR, is currently a research fellow at the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Australia.

He and his colleagues published their findings in BMC Medical Genomics this month.

It is apparently the largest study to date investigating smoking’s effect on gene expression.

He added: “It is likely that this observed effect of smoking on [RNA biosynthesis] has larger implications for human disease risk, especially in relation to the increased risk of a wide variety of cancers throughout the body
as a result of cigarette smoke exposure.”

Fayez Awadeh from Novartis Consumer Health, who is the brand manager of Nicotinell, told Emirates Business: “These findings make sense and I definitely agree with them.

“This is why we have partnered with the Ministry of Health to offer smoking cessation clinics to help individuals stop smoking.”

Awadeh added that, despite smoking being one of the biggest killers in the region, the number of smokers in the UAE continues to rise.

“Users have the perception that a cigarette reduces stress, but it actually increases anxiety levels. It kills.”

Tips on how to quit smoking include taking up sports and adopting an overall healthy lifestyle.

 “And if you feel the urge for a cigarette, have a sugar-free candy instead,” Awadeh concluded.

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