Differences in puff topography toxicant exposure and subjective response between waterpipe tobacco smoking men and women

摘要

Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) exposes users to toxicants in much greater amounts than a cigarette. Little is known about how gender affects WTS toxicant exposure and subjective response. Data from three clinical laboratory studies examining WTS conducted between 2008 and 2013 were combined for analysis. Participants (n=99; 38 women) completed a 45-minute WTS session where they smoked tobacco from a waterpipe ad libitum. Puff topography was measured throughout sessions, and plasma nicotine concentration, expired CO, and subjective responses were measured pre- and post-WTS. There was a gender effect for total puff volume with men inhaling a greater volume of smoke, on average (mean=59.9 L, SD=40.7), compared to women (mean=38.8 L, SD=27.8; p<0.01). Men had greater post-WTS mean plasma nicotine concentrations (mean=10.0 ng/ml, SD=7.1) compared to women (mean=6.9 ng/ml, SD=5.2; p<0.05). Post-WTS expired air CO was not associated with gender (men mean=27.6 ppm, SD=18.9; women mean=22.7 ppm, SD=17.0, n.s.). Relative to men, women had higher post-WTS scores for subjective measures of “Nauseous”, “Dizzy”, “Nervous”, “Headache”, and “Heart pounding”. Men and women are exposed to toxicants during WTS, and men may achieve higher post-WTS plasma nicotine concentrations than women, likely as a result of gender differences in the amount of smoke inhaled. However, similar post-WTS expired air CO concentration between men and women and higher ratings of negative subjective responses among women may indicate that other factors beyond smoke exposure (e.g., sensitivity to certain toxicants) may impact toxicant exposure and subjective response to WTS.