Are all cigarettes equal? response. (Correspondence).Mage raises the issue of exposure to particulate matter particulate matter n. Abbr. PM Material suspended in the air in the form of minute solid particles or liquid droplets, especially when considered as an atmospheric pollutant. Noun 1. from smoking in our study, of indoor smoke and acute respiratory infections Noun 1. respiratory infection - any infection of the respiratory tract respiratory tract infection infection - the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms in Kenya (1), but the points he raises, although correct, are not applicable in this context. In our study area, smoking was very uncommon. Only a small subset of the group smoked cigarettes (a total of 13 in our study group). Those who did smoke did so very infrequently in·fre·quent adj. 1. Not occurring regularly; occasional or rare: an infrequent guest. 2. , often not even on a daily basis, and they often shared their cigarettes because of the cost of cigarettes and because the most common habit in the area is chewing chewing or mastication Up-and-down and side-to-side movements of the lower jaw, using the teeth to grind food for easier swallowing. During chewing, the tongue shapes food into a lump and saliva lubricates it for swallowing. the leaves of the Mirraa plant. Although there are different types of cigarettes and tobacco available in Kenya, we only encountered commercially manufactured cigarettes in our study. We added 1 mg/[m.sup.3] to the personal total PM exposure for smokers. We obtained this value by assuming a P[M.sub.10] concentration of 400 mg/[m.sup.3] and approximately 4 min of active inhalation inhalation /in·ha·la·tion/ (in?hah-la´shun) 1. the drawing of air or other substances into the lungs.inhala´tional 2. the drawing of an aerosolized drug into the lungs with the breath. 3. . In addition to being a source of particulate matter, smoking was considered as an independent factor in Tables 4 and 5 of our paper (1) to estimate its independent contribution to disease, a more informative source of information. By considering cigarette smoke as a source of PM, we acknowledged this parallel between the two pollutants pollutants see environmental pollution. (while emphasizing the differences in their other properties such as carcinogenesis car·ci·no·gen·e·sis n. The production of cancer. carcinogenesis production of cancer. biological carcinogenesis viruses and some parasites are capable of initiating neoplasia. ). With the uncertainties in assessment of exposure to pollution from cooking and using wide exposure categories, the small number of smokers, and multiple analyses approaches, our findings are not sensitive to the exact level of exposure to PM from smoking. Majid Ezzati Resources for the Future Washington, DC E-mail: ezzati@rff.org Daniel M. Kammen University of California Berkeley, California REFERENCES AND NOTES (1.) Ezzati M, Kammen DM. Quantifying the effects of exposure to indoor air pollution from biomass combustion on acute respiratory infections in developing countries. Environ Health Perspect 109:481-488 (2001). |
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