Tobacco metabolites and their effects on cancer-causing genes

World Health Organisation (WHO) report stated that “Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today. By 2030, the death toll will exceed eight million a year” (WHO, 2008). The carcinogens in tobacco can directly alter the genetic code, or their constituent metabolites can affect various pathways and genes (Anand, 2008). Our aim is to identify tobacco-derived metabolites, that are consumed during smoking and by the use of smokeless tobacco, that are playing a major role in the initiation and progression of various cancer types to provide a novel insight into tobacco mediated cancer.