Dataset Information

The Bacterial Communities of Little Cigars and Cigarillos Are Dynamic Over Time and Varying Storage Conditions.

ABSTRACT: Despite their potential importance with regard to tobacco-related health outcomes, as well as their hypothesized role in the production of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines, bacterial constituents of tobacco products lack characterization. Specifically, to our knowledge, there has been no comprehensive characterization of the effects of storage conditions on the bacterial communities associated with little cigars and cigarillos. To address this knowledge gap, we characterized the bacterial community composition of the tobacco and wrapper components of the following four products: Swisher Sweets Original; Swisher Sweets, Sweet Cherry; Cheyenne Cigars Full Flavor 100's; and Cheyenne Menthol Box. Each product was stored under three different conditions of temperature and relative humidity to mimic different user storage conditions: room (20°C 50% RH), refrigerator (5°C 18% RH) and pocket (25°C 30% RH). On days 0, 5, 9 and 14, subsamples were collected, the wrapper and tobacco were separated, and their total DNA was extracted separately and purified. Resulting DNA was then used in PCR assays targeting the V3 V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 300bp PE. Resulting sequences were processed using the Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) software package, followed by analyses in R using the Phyloseq and Vegan packages. A single bacterial phylum, Firmicutes, dominated in the wrapper subsamples whereas the tobacco subsamples were dominated by Proteobacteria. Cheyenne Menthol Box (CMB) samples were characterized by significant differential abundances for 23 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in tobacco subsamples and 27 OTUs in the wrapper subsamples between day 0 and day 14 under all conditions. OTUs from the genera Acinetobacter and Bacillus significantly increased in the CMB tobacco subsamples, and OTUs from Bacillus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus significantly increased in the CMB wrapper subsamples over time. These initial results suggest that the bacterial communities of little cigars and cigarillos are dynamic over time and varying storage conditions.

SUBMITTER: Smyth EM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6824217 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:IntroductionIn 2016, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would regulate little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) and expressed concern about the concomitant use of combustible tobacco products. To understand LCC use among socially-disadvantaged cigarette smokers, we assessed (1) the prevalence of concomitant use of subtypes of LCCs: LCC-tobacco, LCC-blunt, and LCC- poly use, which includes use of both LCC-tobacco and LCC-blunt and (2) and its association with sociodemographic factors and substance use behaviors using race/ethnicity and gender stratified models.MethodsIn 2015, a web-based survey was administered to a national probability sample of black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and white cigarette smokers aged 18-44 (n = 1018). Weighted estimates were used to assess current LCC-tobacco, LCC-blunt, and LCC-poly use. Multinomial regression models assessed sociodemographic, other tobacco and substance use correlates associated with LCC user subtypes.ResultsOf cigarette smokers, 63% did not smoke LCCs; 15.1% were LCC-tobacco users; 11.1% were LCC-blunt users; and 10.5% were LCC-poly users. Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino cigarette smokers had higher odds of LCC-tobacco, LCC-blunt, and LCC-poly use compared to white cigarette smokers. Blacks/African Americans who initiated cigarette smoking before age 18 and smoked other tobacco products had greater odds of LCC-tobacco use than whites. Male cigarette smokers who smoked other tobacco products and females who had early onset of cigarette use also had greater odds of LCC-tobacco use.ConclusionsOver 30% of cigarette smokers concomitantly used LCCs, which may prolong smoking. Accurate estimates of diverse LCC use behaviors may increase our understanding of the potential harms of concomitant use.ImplicationsAggregate measures of LCC smoking do not distinguish subtypes of use among socially-disadvantaged cigarette smokers (ie, young adults, blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos), who may engage in these unique smoking behaviors. We document the prevalence of young adult cigarette smokers who dual use LCC-tobacco and LCC-blunts and are poly users of LCC-tobacco + LCC-blunts, and identify sociodemographic groups at risk for use. The Food and Drug Administration is concerned about concomitant behavior, which may increase chronic disease risk and addiction. Accurate estimates of LCC smoking behaviors may increase our understanding of the harms of concomitant use; which can inform prevention programs that specifically target LCC subtypes.

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The Bacterial Communities of Little Cigars and Cigarillos Are Dynamic Over Time and Varying Storage Conditions.

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