Abstract
Smoking-related diseases can be attributed to the inhalation of many different toxins, including heavy metals, which have a host of detrimental health effects. The current study reports the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in cigarettes obtained from adult smokers participating in the 2009 wave of the ITC United States Survey (N = 320). The mean As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb levels were 0.17, 0.86, 2.35, 2.21, and 0.44 µg/g, respectively. There were some differences in metal concentrations of cigarette brands produced by different manufacturers, suggesting differences in the source of tobaccos used by different companies. For Ni, there were significant pairwise differences between Philip Morris U.S. (PMUSA) and R.J. Reynolds (RJR) brands (PMUSA higher; p < 0.001), PMUSA and other manufacturer (OM) brands (PMUSA higher; p < 0.001), and RJR and OM brands (RJR higher; p = 0.006). For Cr, RJR brands had higher levels than did OM brands (p = 0.02). Levels of As, Cd, and Pb did not differ significantly across manufacturer groups (p > 0.10). Because of the variety of toxic heavy metals in cigarette tobacco, and their numerous negative health effects, metal content in cigarette tobacco should be reduced.
Highlights
Cigarette smoking leads to an estimated 443,000 deaths per year in the United States [1].Smoking-related diseases are the result of nicotine addiction [2], which leads to the repeated inhalation of a variety of toxicants in cigarette smoke, including nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and several toxic heavy metals [3]
There have been comparatively fewer studies conducted on the role of heavy metals as causes of smoking-related diseases and there is a need for basic studies on the levels of heavy metals in cigarettes and other tobacco products
Cigarettes obtained from a sample of smokers in the United States were found to contain metals that could potentially be harmful to human health
Summary
Cigarette smoking leads to an estimated 443,000 deaths per year in the United States [1]. Smoking-related diseases are the result of nicotine addiction [2], which leads to the repeated inhalation of a variety of toxicants in cigarette smoke, including nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and several toxic heavy metals [3]. Several heavy metals found in tobacco smoke, such as Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni, accumulate in tissues and fluids after smoking [13,14,15,16] This is a particular issue for cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), which have long (10–12 year) half-lives in the human body. United States Survey, which includes a national sample of U.S adult cigarette smokers [30]
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