Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part IV

A recent study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institute of Health, snappily titled Human Pathogens Abundant in the Bacterial Metagenome of Cigarettes, tested Marlboro Reds, Camels, Lucky Strikes and Kools, and discovered:

Fifteen different classes of bacteria and a broad range of potentially pathogenic organisms were detected in all cigarette samples. Most notably, we detected Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Serratia in ≥ 90% of all cigarette samples. Other pathogenic bacteria detected included Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Proteus, and Staphylococcus. No significant variability in bacterial diversity was observed across the four different cigarette brands.

Who would knowingly and willingly light a stick of bacterially infected toxins and then inhale the results? Sometimes reframing a compulsion and bringing its reality out into the light is enough to vanquish it. So when you light up your next cigarette, think about their exciting conclusion:

Previous studies have shown that smoking is associated with colonization by pathogenic bacteria and an increased risk of lung infections. However, this is the first study to show that cigarettes themselves could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potentially pathogenic microbes among smokers and other people exposed to secondhand smoke.

And since it is the holiday season, I'll end here on a happier note, but hopefully not happy enough to blunt the horror that you, the smoker, should be feeling right about now.