CORRESPONDENCE

Re: Early Age at Smoking Initiation and Tobacco Carcinogen DNA Damage in the Lung

John H. Glaser

Correspondence to: John H. Glaser, 4 Woodpark Circle, Lexington, MA 02421 (e-mail: GlaserJ{at}polaroid.com).

It is clear from the analysis by Wiencke et al. (1) that an earlier age at smoking initiation is associated with a greater frequency of DNA damage. It should also be clear that children of parents who smoke are more likely to begin smoking at a younger age than are children of nonsmoking parents. This conclusion suggests the possibility that a portion of the susceptibility to DNA adduct formation observed in those with the youngest age at initiation of smoking might have been inherited from their parents' damaged DNA. Should not the parents' smoking history be included as one of the factors in the multivariate analysis?

REFERENCE

1 Wiencke JK, Thurston SW, Kelsey KT, Varkonyi A, Wain JC, Mark EJ, et al. Early age at smoking initiation and tobacco carcinogen DNA damage in the lung. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999;91:614-9.[Abstract/Free Full Text]



             
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