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Smoking causes gene damage in minutes

WASHINGTON: Those first few puffs on a cigarette can within minutes cause genetic damage linked to cancer,US scientists said in a study released. In fact,researchers said the effect is so fast that its equivalent to injecting the substance directly into the bloodstream, in findings described as a stark warning to those who smoke. The study is the first on humans to track how substances in tobacco cause DNA damage,and appears in the peer-reviewed journal Chemical Research in Toxicology,issued by the American Chemical Society.