The Effects of Smoking in the Molecular Level

A study done at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research results in seeing that smoking appears to prevent formation of proteins that help prevent tumors to occur in the body. When smoking, mutations known as "stop-gain" mutations in the DNA increase and these mutation prevent the body from making these protective proteins. This is because the DNA gets altered and the formation of tumor suppressors is halted. This is why people who smoke are more vulnerable to cancer due to the stop-gain mutations that some acquire. The study also noted that the longer and the more frequent a person had smoked, the increase in stop-gain mutations were found in their tumors. The study focused on tobacco and what it does to the body. Researchers found that smoking tobacco damages our DNA and deactivates critical proteins that are needed for cell function. Other bad habits that people do are drinking alcohol and having an unhealthy diet. These things are not yet confirmed to also boost stop-gain mutations, but they are being studied because of its high possibility. 

I've always known and people have always told me that smoking is bad for you health, and I've also heard how smoking can lead to cancer. Many people have heard this, and it's true. But I never knew the health problems you get are due to mutations. It is very captivating how smoking can do these things down to the molecular level. The level of explanation given in this article is very good, and many people, smokers and non-smokers, should be aware of the causes of smoking. And just how these things may happen to smokers, second-hand smoking is just as damaging due to the concentration levels of carcinogens that people might inhale from smokers. 

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-11-08/smoking-undermines-human-dna-that-would-normally-prevent-cancer

https://cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/reduce-your-risk/live-smoke-free

Men exposed to cigarette smoke in childhood more likely to have asthmatic kids

 A study conducted at the University of Melbourne has determined that children are more likely to develop asthma if their father was exposed to secondhand smoke as a child. This risk increases even further if the father then went on to become a smoker himself. 

This study was composed of 1700 children. Researchers looked at whether they had developed asthma before the age of seven. The data was then compared to whether or not their fathers grew up with parents who smoked before they were fifteen. 

Researchers believe this could be a result of an epigenetic change, which is when factors in one's environment interact with their genes and modify the expression. These researchers believe that this could be passed down to the fathers offspring. 

I would love to see more results from further studies of this topic, as they have a fairly small sample size. I am left wondering if this is truly the result of an epigenetic change, or if this is the result of people with smoking parents becoming smokers themselves.