The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: To determine the serum level of N-Nitrosamines and its precursor compounds in smokers and non-smokers in Calabar Metropolis.

Methods: Serum nitrite,nitrate and N-nitrosamine levels were estimated in seventy smokers and fifty non-smokers using physiochemical and spectrophotometric techniques. All subjects used were healthy volounteers.

Results: The findings show that the smokers have significantly higher (p<0.05) levels of mean serum nitrite and mean serum nitrosamine when compared with the non-smokers. The mean serum nitrate concentration in smokers was significantly lower(p<0.05) than that of the non-smokers. Amount of cigarette intake amd smoking years correlated positively(r =0.59,p<0.05) with serum nitrite concentration, also serum nitrite levels correlated negatively with serum nitrate levels but positively with serum N-nitrosamine levels amongst smokers.