Studies on Levels of Trace Metals in Cigarette Sold in Ethiopia
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Date
2007-03
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
A significant flux of heavy metals, among other toxins, reaches the lungs through
smoking. This project reports the heavy metal concentrations in tobacco from samples of
11 cigarette products, sold in Ethiopia. Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc
(Zn) contents were determined in 11 brands of tobacco cigarette commonly available in
Ethiopia by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentration of trace metals in
the cigarettes ranged, Cd, from 1.3 to 7.6 μg/g with mean 2.48 ± 0.32 μg/g, Pb, 0.50 to
12.50 μg/g with mean 6.24 ± 2.2 μg/g, Cu, 2.89 to 25.35 μg/g with mean 13.70 ± 4.12
μg/g, and Zn, 24.40 to 62.55 μg/g with mean 36.22 ± 7.50 μg/g. Comparable results of
trace metals are obtained in both imported and Ethiopian cigarettes. The average trace
metal contents of cigarettes available in Ethiopia are Cd, 1.82 ± 0.39, Pb, 4.23 ± 0.97, Cu,
10.22 ± 3.15 and Zn, 28.18 ± 7.81 μg/cigarette and a person who smokes 20 cigarettes
per day is estimated to increase his/her daily Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn retention by
approximately 0.036, 0.085, 0.204, 0.564 mg/day, respectively. The results indicate that
smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke is a serious problem to be taken into account
when carrying out epidemiological studies on human exposure to trace metals
Key words: Cigarette tobacco, Trace metals, Ethiopia, Wet digestion, Atomic absorption
spectrometry
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Keywords
Cigarette tobacco; Trace metals; Ethiopia; Wet digestion; Atomic absorption spectrometry