Smoker's melanosis

Smoking or the use of nicotine-containing drugs is the cause of Smoker's melanosis. Tar-components (benzopyrenes) are also known to stimulate melanocytes to melanin production, and other unknown toxic agents in tobacco may also be the cause. These chemical agents have a polycyclic, chain-like structure. Environmental tobacco smoke from parents is causing smoker's melanosis in their children Swedish snuff causes a small elevation of oral melanin pigmented individuals from 3.0% to 4.7%. Nicotine tablets have shown to stimulate melanin pigmentation of the oral mucosa. ==Treatment and prognosis==

Lesions usually disappear between 3 months to 3 years for those who stop smoking. Smoker's melanosis is a benign, normal physiological reaction, and does not develop into cancer. If it does not disappear, however, a biopsy can verify the diagnosis. If a smoker's melanosis is destroyed by excessive smoking, as in the hard palate of reverse smokers, who smoke with the glowing part of the cigarette inside the mouth for different reasons, a pale depigmented surface is first seen, indicating the loss of the protecting melanin. Then a red inflammation sometimes occurs and cancer development may follow. In reverse smokers it is important to regularly inspect the areas with smoker's melanosis to detect any melanin destruction, in order to stop smoking in time and thus prevent cancer development. ==Epidemiology==

A study in Sweden Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Sweden, Turkey, USA, and several other countries. Smoker's melanosis is expected to be found also in other tissue surfaces exposed to tobacco and tobacco smoke, for instance lips and in skin of the fingers holding the cigarette. Future studies will also show if the use of tobacco exaggerates the pigmentation of skin. ==Gallery==

Discoloration of skin on finger holding cigarette.jpg|Possible smoker's melanosis. Discoloured skin on finger. Area close to cigarette glow. Melanocyte with melanin in dendrite to the left.jpg|Melanocyte with melanin granules in dendrite. Melanocytes with dendrites. Smoker´s melanosis.jpg|Melanocytes in basal cells of a smoker's gum Melanosomes in the most basal part of gingival epithelium.jpg|Melanin granules in the basal epithelium under light microscope Smoker´s melanosis.jpg|Smoker's melanosis in upper and lower gums ==See also==