Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19959701›Full record

ArticleCancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology2009

Chinese "herbal" cigarettes are as carcinogenic and addictive as regular cigarettes.

Quan Gan, Jie Yang, Gonghuan Yang, Maciej Goniewicz, Neal L Benowitz, Stanton A Glantz

Open access · bronzeAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Quan GanCenter for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-1390, USA.
Jie Yang
Gonghuan Yang
Maciej Goniewicz
Neal L Benowitz
Stanton A Glantz
University of California, San Francisco · USUCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center · USBeijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control · CN

Funding

Postdoctoral training in tobacco controlR25CA113710 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI GLANTZ, STANTON ARNOLD · 2006 to 2015
$5.4M
Postdoctoral training in tobacco controlT32CA113710 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI LING, PAMELA MAY · 2016 to 2020
$2.6M
NCI NIH HHS CA-113710NCI NIH HHS R25 CA113710NCI NIH HHS T32 CA113710
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the Chinese tobacco industry's claim that herbal cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes.

methodsThe study design was a cross-sectional survey. One hundred thirty-five herbal cigarette smokers and 143 regular smokers from one city in China completed a questionnaire on smoking behavior and provided a urine sample. The main outcome measures were cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine in all samples, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (PAH; 1-hydroxypyrene, naphthols, hydroxyfluorenes, and hydroxyphnanthrenes) and the tobacco specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-butanol (NNAL) and NNAL-glucuronide in randomly selected 98 samples (47 from the herbal smokers' group and 51 from the regular smokers' group). Values were normalized by creatinine to correct for possible variability introduced by dilution or concentration of the urine.

resultsHealth concern was among the main reasons that smokers switched to herbal cigarettes from regular cigarettes. Smokers reported increased consumption after switching to herbal cigarettes from regular cigarettes. For all the four markers analyzed (cotinine, trans-3'-hydroxycotinine, total NNAL, and total PAHs), we observed no significant difference in the levels (P = 0.169, P = 0.146, P = 0.171, and P = 0.554, respectively) between smokers of herbal cigarettes and smokers of regular cigarettes. Both total NNAL and total PAHs were significantly correlated with cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (P < 0.001 for all four correlations).

conclusionsOur findings showed that herbal cigarettes did not deliver less carcinogens than regular cigarettes. The public needs to be aware of this fact, and the Chinese tobacco industry should avoid misleading the public when promoting herbal cigarettes as safer products.

Indexed as

CarcinogensAdultBehavior, AddictiveBiomarkersCotinineCross-Sectional StudiesDrugs, Chinese HerbalHumansMiddle AgedNitrosaminesPlants, MedicinalPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonsSmokingBiomarkersCarcinogensCotinineDrugs, Chinese HerbalNitrosaminesPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Identifiers

PMID19959701
PMCPMC2789338
OpenAlexW2110375885

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.