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Trace elements in Jamaican tobacco.

C N Grant1, G C Lalor, M K Vutchkov

  • 1International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.

The West Indian Medical Journal
|June 18, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Jamaican tobacco, particularly from Manchester, shows high levels of heavy metals like cadmium, posing potential health risks. Imported cigarettes and cigars have similar elemental content, except for lower chromium and vanadium.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Tobacco products contain various elements, with concentrations potentially influenced by soil composition.
  • Heavy metals and radioactive elements in tobacco smoke are linked to significant health risks.
  • Regional soil geochemistry can impact the elemental profile of locally grown tobacco.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare elemental concentrations in Jamaican tobacco products with imported alternatives.
  • To assess potential health risks associated with heavy metal and radioactive element content in Jamaican tobacco.
  • To investigate the influence of regional soil composition on tobacco's elemental profile.

Main Methods:

  • Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for elemental analysis.

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  • Comparison of elemental data from hand-made cigars, "rope" tobacco, and fresh leaves from Manchester, Jamaica.
  • Analysis of locally packaged and imported cigarettes and cigars.

    • Main Results:

    • Elemental concentrations in most Jamaican tobacco brands were similar, except for lower chromium and vanadium in imported products.
    • Manchester tobacco exhibited elevated levels of aluminium, cadmium, caesium, cerium, chromium, iron, thorium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc.
    • Cadmium levels in Jamaican tobacco were approximately 50 times higher than in commercial cigarettes, correlating with high soil concentrations.

    Conclusions:

    • Jamaican tobacco, especially from Manchester, presents a heightened health risk due to significantly higher heavy metal and radioactive element concentrations.
    • The high cadmium content in unfiltered Jamaican tobacco smoke (50%) contributes to an increased health risk compared to commercial cigarettes.
    • Similar heavy metal risks were observed in analyzed marijuana samples, suggesting broader environmental contamination issues.