The purpose of this study is to determine biomarkers of exposure to Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHCs) in Cigarette Smoke and cardiovascular-related biomarkers in smokers and non smokers.

Since Japanese mortality associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) is lower than that in the USA although Japan is one of the top four tobacco consuming countries, this study aims to determine biomarkers of both level of exposure and CVD-related biological effects in Japanese smokers compared to non-smokers.

Biomarkers of Exposure (BoExp) include 2-naphthylamine (2-NA), 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP), 4-(methylnitrosaminoi)-1-(3-pyridil)-1-butanone (NNK), carbon monoxide (CO), nicotine, pyrene and 0-toluidine (o-TOL). CVD-related biomarkers include white blood cell (WBC) count, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine in plasma; complemented with urinary 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α (8-epi-PGF2α), plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), urinary 11-DTXB2, plasma fibrinogen, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and von Willebrand Factor.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Smokers have smoked commercially available conventional cigarettes (CC)
• With a minimum consumption of 10 CC per day for the last 5 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any prior medical condition or chronic disease
• Recent infection
• History of cancer
• Use of concomitant medication
• History of alcohol abuse
• Pregnant women

Healthy male and female Japanese smokers and non smokers, 30 years of age or older.