Principal Investigators: Michael J. Blaha

Funding Mechanism: National Institutes of Health – TCORS Grant

ID number: 2 U54 HL120163-06

Award Date: 8/31/18

Institution: Johns Hopkins University

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Although overwhelming evidence supports the association between cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease, the cardiovascular effects of other tobacco products such as cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes remain unclear. The goal of this American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science (A-TRAC) project is to assess the cardiovascular health impact of these less frequently used tobacco products. Study aims are: (1) to use the Cross Cohort Collaboration (CCC) dataset to harmonize tobacco data across 18 cohort studies and to create the largest cardiovascular study of cigar, pipe, and smokeless tobacco users yet undertaken (among 200,000 total cohort participants, there are 65,000 former smokers, 24,000 current smokers, 2,900 cigar users, 3,300 pipe users, and 1,900 smokeless tobacco users); (2) to use the CCC dataset to examine whether the use of cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco is associated with volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure, biomarkers of subclinical inflammation, vascular injury, and cardiovascular events; and (3) to develop e-cigarette use data from existing cardiovascular cohort studies to undertake first-of-its-kind study of the cardiovascular health effects of e-cigarettes in a large geographically dispersed, community-based sample (~1500-2000 ever e-cigarette users, ~600 current e-cigarette users). Aggregate data from these aims will be used to test the hypothesis that non-cigarette tobacco product use is associated with significant cardiovascular injury, which is attributable, in part, to VOCs generated by or present in these products. Findings will provide new information related to the cardiovascular impact of tobacco product use and may inform future regulatory activities.

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A-TRAC TCORS American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science 2.0: Related Resources

• A-TRAC TCORS: American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science (A-TRAC) 2.0
• A-TRAC TCORS Project 1: Cardiovascular Toxicity of Tobacco Products
• A-TRAC TCORS Project 2: Cardiovascular Injury Due to Tobacco Use
• The original scientific abstract and other project information can be found on the NIH website.