Since nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) activation by cigarette smoke has been reported (McMillan et al., 2011; Sundar et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2006), we first examined p65 S536 phosphorylation as a positive control to monitor the proper response of NSCLC cells to CSE treatment (Fig. 1A). This evidence concerns the gene NFKB1 and non-small cell lung carcinoma.