A team of scientists from the Penn State including Professor of behavioural health, Gary King have revealed a very strong relation between melanin – a chemical cause different skin and hair tones – and nicotine. a research was conducted in Harrisberg in 2007 which studied 150 adult African American smokers from three different sites of the inner city. Their studies were to further investigate and possibly address the problem that African American smokers has smaller quitting rates compared to those of others with lighter skin tone.
The study recorded, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the level of absorption of nicotine and demographic information such as sex, age..etc.
They found that the number of cigarettes smoked per day per individual was directly proportional to the facultative melanin found in each individual. Yet the constitutive melanin did not follow the same trend.
They also found that the absorption of nicotine was directly correlated to the amount of melanin. This means that individuals have different levels of nicotine absorption depending on their individual melanin concentration in their body.
Gary King, the leading researcher did admit that the experiment was not totally accurate and that the results needed more testing on smokers with lighter skin tone and different demography’s to verify their findings.
References:
1) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090508134951.htm
