Patent ID: 8637652

Claim:
A Method for detecting that a subject is a user of tobacco comprising: (a) providing a biological sample from the subject; (b) contacting DNA from the biological sample with bisulfite under alkaline conditions; (c) contacting the bisulfite-treated DNA with at least one first oligonucleotide probe at least 8 nucleotides in length that is complementary to a sequence that comprises a CpG dinucleotide at position 373378 of chromosome 5 within the AHRR gene, wherein the at least one first oligonucleotide probe detects either the unmethylated CpG dinucleotide or the methylated CpG dinucleotide, and (d) detecting either the unmethylated CpG dinucleotide or the methylated CpG dinucleotide, wherein methylation of the CpG dinucleotide at position 373378 of chromosome 5 is associated with the subject's use of tobacco.