Tobacco May Have ‘Glue’ That Clogs Arteries

Tobacco may cause heart disease by introducing a sugary “molecular glue” that helps clog smokers’ arteries, new research indicates.

The findings presented Friday could be an important clue to the unknown mechanism by which smoking provokes heart disease. Other scientists cautioned, however, that the findings shed light on only one possible mechanism.

According to the new research, smoking releases “advanced glycation end products,” substances that have also been linked to similar vascular damage in diabetics. The smoking-related end products are produced in the drying process for tobacco leaves as sugars naturally present in the leaf attach to plant proteins. When burned, the compounds are carried in smoke into the lungs and thus into the bloodstream, said researcher Anthony Cerami of the Pickower Institute in Manhasset, N.Y. Cerami presented the study at the annual meeting of the Molecular Medicine Society.

The end-product molecules cross-link like glue, constricting circulation and causing hardening of the arteries.