Evaluation of trace metals in tobacco of local and imported cigarette brands used in Pakistan by spectrophotometer through microwave digestion

Abstract

-Uncontrolled exposure of active and passive smokers to trace metals causes increase in health risks. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether local and imported cigarette brands used in Pakistan, have elevated levels of metals or not. Six metals manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) were determined in tobacco of twenty cigarette contamination chances and for complete digestion of analytes a microwave digester was used. The analytical results showed highest concentration of Mn (84.78 μg/g dry weight), Cd (0.525 μg/g dry weight) and Zn (14.34 μg/g dry weight) metals in imported brands in relation to counterparts from the local brands. Certain elevated levels were observed for Co (3.344 μg/g dry weight), Pb (14.16 μg/g dry weight) and Cu (7.889 μg/g dry weight) metals in local brands. The inter-metal relationships in the tobacco of local and imported cigarette brands showed some integrated variation in the selected metal levels. In view of health risk associated with the above metals, there should be a strict quality control over monitoring of heavy metals during growing, processing and smoking of tobacco. Therefore, it is prudent to minimize exposure to toxic substances whenever possible because smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke is a confounder to be taken into account when carrying out epidemiological studies on human exposure to metals.

Assessment of carcinogenic heavy metal levels in Brazilian cigarettes

“…The mean levels of Cd were similar to those found by Ajab et al (2008), Stephens et al (2005), and Galazyn-Sidorezuk et al (2008). They reported mean levels of 0.50, 0.60, and 0.76 μg/g, respectively.…”

“…These results disagree with those reported by Zulfiqar et al (2006) for Pakistani cigarettes, when no correlation between Pb and Cr, Ni and Pb, and Ni and Cr levels were detected. No significant correlations were observed either between the levels of Cd and another heavy metals, unlike the results found by Zulfiqar et al (2006) and Ajab et al (2008), who described positive correlations between Cd and Pb levels in Pakistani (r = 0.694) and in imported cigarettes commercialized in Pakistan (r = 0.543), respectively. Similarly, Galazyn-Sidorezuk et al (2008) also showed a positive correlation between levels of Cd and Pb (r = 0.414) in cigarettes produced in Poland.…”

“…Several heavy metals have been identified and measured in cigarettes, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), and zinc (Zn) (Ajab et al 2008;Kazi et al 2009;LugonMoulin et al 2006;Stephens et al 2005;Zulfiqar et al 2006). The presence of these metals in cigarette is mainly related to the tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum L.) natural content.…”

Fontes de exposição humana ao chumbo no Brasil

“…30 A fumaça do cigarro é uma mistura de cerca de 4.700 substâncias tóxicas diferentes, apresentando uma fase gasosa e outra particulada. A fase gasosa é composta, entre outros, por monóxido de carbono, amônia, cetonas, formaldeído, acetaldeído e acroleína.…”

Pb(Po)-210 concentration of tobacco samples grown in the vicinity of a remedied uranium mine

“…Its heavy metal-absorption related to soil type and other conditions of growth was previously inspected by several researchers [1,2].…”