Abstract
Tobacco smoke is a toxic and carcinogenic mixture of more than 5,000 chemicals. The present article provides a list of 98 hazardous smoke components, based on an extensive literature search for known smoke components and their human health inhalation risks. An electronic database of smoke components containing more than 2,200 entries was generated. Emission levels in mainstream smoke have been found for 542 of the components and a human inhalation risk value for 98 components. As components with potential carcinogenic, cardiovascular and respiratory effects have been included, the three major smoke-related causes of death are all covered by the list. Given that the currently used Hoffmann list of hazardous smoke components is based on data from the 1990s and only includes carcinogens, it is recommended that the current list of 98 hazardous components is used for regulatory purposes instead. To enable risk assessment of components not covered by this list, thresholds of toxicological concern (TTC) have been established from the inhalation risk values found: 0.0018 μg day−1 for all risks, and 1.2 μg day−1 for all risks excluding carcinogenicity, the latter being similar to previously reported inhalation TTCs.
Highlights
Tobacco smoke is a complex, dynamic and reactive mixture containing an estimated 5,000 chemicals [1,2,3]
The present paper describes the development of an up-to-date list of hazardous tobacco smoke components together with inhalation risk values covering all major tobacco-related diseases
This database is updated on a regular basis and contains risk values from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the Centers for Disease Control of the United States (ATSDR), Health Canada (HC), International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), NSF International, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM; National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands), and the United
Summary
Tobacco smoke is a complex, dynamic and reactive mixture containing an estimated 5,000 chemicals [1,2,3]. A list of smoke components needs to be selected with a sufficiently broad chemical, toxicological, and pharmacological profile. Both the tobacco industry and authorities strongly focus on the so-called Hoffmann analytes. No endpoints other than carcinogenicity are specified, whereas cancer is only one of three major tobacco-related diseases Other toxicological endpoints such as those related to cardiovascular and pulmonary disease need to be included as well. For these reasons we propose that the Hoffmann list needed to be revised. The present paper describes the development of an up-to-date list of hazardous tobacco smoke components together with inhalation risk values covering all major tobacco-related diseases. From our database components with known potential health risks for cancer or other endpoints (primarily cardiovascular and respiratory effects) have been selected as an initial list for regulatory purposes
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