Lipophiles tobacco toxicity

There are no known direct studies on the toxic effects of chemical exposures on the developing fetus. It is known, however, that children of tobacco smokers (tobacco smoke is a mixture of multiple lipophiles and hydrophiles) have unusually high incidences of ADHD, autism, and other developmental disorders. These and other mixture effects are examined more closely in subsequent chapters. This chapter has aimed to alert the reader to the fact that toxic exposure begins at conception and impacts the fetus throughout gestation and beyond. 

Cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco are made up of dried tobacco leaves and hundreds of other components added for flavor and other properties. More than 4000 individual toxic lipophilic and hydrophilic chemical compounds, of which greater than 60 are carcinogens, have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke. I35 36 Accordingly, all tobacco and tobacco smoke exposure is, of necessity, to mixtures of toxic chemicals. 

Human exposure to a combination of tobacco smoke and the house dust mites has been shown to result in allergic sensitization. It is believed that tobacco smoke impairs the barrier function of the airway epithelium, leading to increased access of allergens contained in the house dust mite. In vitro studies with human bronchial epithelial cells have confirmed this hypothesis. I42,43l In this instance it is believed that lipophiles in tobacco smoke serve to facilitate the permeation of toxic allergens. 

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