Cadmium in tobacco and its fate during smoking

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6615802

Petering, H G; Menden, E E; Michael, L W

Using a smoking machine, reference cigarettes, a commercial brand of nonfilter 85-millimeter cigarettes, a medium-priced cigar, and a popular brand of pipe tobacco, both wet-ashing and dry-ashing procedures were carried out to determine the cadmium content to which smokers were being exposed. Cigarettes varied from 1.31 to 1.28 micrograms (microg) of cadmium per cigarette, which corresponded to 1.17 to 1.62 microg per gram (g) of cigarette. For cigar tobacco a total of 1.86 microg/g was found and in pipe tobacco the content was 0.93 microg/g. Only 6 to 7% of the cadmium in the smoked portion of the cigarette appeared in the tar, while the unsmoked butts were enriched with 10 to 27% of the cadmium of the smoked portions. The authors suggest that the remaining cadmium, 50 to 55%, is lost in the sidestream during smoking and between puffs. This indicated that not only is the one smoking at risk from cadmium exposure, but so are the others present in the vicinity.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6615802
• Report Number(s): PB-88-248331/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CADMIUM
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
TOBACCO
TOBACCO SMOKES
AIR POLLUTION
ASHES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
METALS
AEROSOLS
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
SMOKES
SOLS
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
500200 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)