Cigarettes- Another easy source of Pathogenic bacteria and viruses

Cigarettes- Another easy source of Pathogenic bacteria and viruses

We shun cigarettes due to the toxic interactions of the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes. But the recent data which is much frighteningly says that in tact Cigarettes harbor hundreds of harmful bacteria and fungi. Hundreds of bacterial species are present in each cigarette, and additional testing is likely to increase that number significantly. The bacteria of medical significance to humans, identified in all of the tested cigarettes, include Acinetobacter (associated with lung and blood infections); Bacillus (some varieties associated with food borne illnesses and anthrax); Burkholderia (some forms responsible for respiratory infections); Clostridium(associated with foodborne illnesses and lung infections); Klebsiella (associated with a variety of lung, blood and other infections); Pseudomonas aeruginosa (an organism that causes 10 percent of all hospital-acquired infections in the United States) and the Gram-negative bacteria Pantoea agglomerans possessing strong endotoxic and allergenic properties. In additions there are hundreds of saprophytic and pathogenic bacteria accrue in the process of year long exposure of tobacco leaves in the process of curing and maturing in a humid atmosphere.

Curing of tobacco leaves is an essential process in tobacco manufacture. In this process freshly cut leaves are fermented or “sweated” and aged. In this process wilted leaves are piled up in huge heaps in ware houses for three to six months. This is when the bacteria present in the surface of leaves multiply in large numbers and air borne fungal spores settle and multiply. It is found that storing cigarettes at 94% RH for 8 days or more may result in bacterial and, more pronounced, fungal growth in the cigarette tobacco; this may lead to increased concentrations of microbiological agents

* The process of drawing hot air into lungs in the process of smoking is the way in which the living bacteria and fungal spores are entering the respiratory tract and lungs. This might account for the fact that the respiratory tracts of smokers are characterized by higher levels of bacterial pathogens. A new study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, paints the most complete picture to date of the bacteria in tobacco, suggesting that the germs could be another potential source of infection and disease. But it's also possible that smoking weakens natural immunity and the bacteria come from the general environment rather than from cigarettes.

The chemicals and heavy metals found in cigarettes--there are nearly 3,000 of them—and the particulates get most of the blame for the harmful effects of cigarettes, such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)., emerging research points to smoking as a risk factor for respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, influenza, asthma, bacterial pneumonia and interstitial lung disease.

With 1.2 billion smokers over the age of 15 worldwide, studying the bacterial diversity of tobacco is critical, according to scientists.

No differences in microbial load in "light" and "full flavor" cigarettes were found.

a range of additional bacteria and fungi were also found albeit in minor amounts.

The pathogens in cigar may work synergistically with the other environmental factors like pollutants. Many of the pollutants are known to produce free radicals and these free radicals reduce the efficiency of the metabolic processes and in some cases derail many of them. This condition is ideal for bacterial or fungal contamination. Thus cigar smoking is a good recipe for pathogenic infections in lungs.

Many hundreds of compounds known to contribute to disease development have been identified in tobacco smoke. Both active and second hand smoking causes cancer and a multitude of other diseases such as for example chronic bronchitis and asthma. Many studies revealed that tobacco smoke contains endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS), a family of inflammatory toxins from Gram-negative bacteria known to cause respiratory disease upon inhalation.

As the Corona virus weakens the lungs and other respiratory tracts, inhaling of cigarette smoke in active and passive smoking may lead to much dangerous situations

Source:

Amy R. Sapkota, Sibel Berger, and Timothy M. Vogel. Human Pathogens Abundant in the Bacterial Metagenome of Cigarettes. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2009; DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0901201

Mammen Daniel