The activities of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in cigarette smoked in Tunisia

In this study, the activity concentration of polonium 210 in cigarette for Tunisian consumers was investigated by alpha spectrometry. After chemical digestion of tobacco, ²¹⁰Po was extracted, auto-deposited on disc and measured. The activity of ²¹⁰Pb was assessed after radioactive equilibrium was achieved. The activity levels of ²¹⁰Po ranged between 7.8 ± 0.3 and 17 ± 0.5 mBq per cigarette with an average of 12.9 ± 0.4 mBq per cigarette. Effective doses per year due to cigarette smoking were calculated assuming that 22% of the ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in tobacco were retained in the lungs of the smokers. It is concluded that for a smoker in Tunisia, the average effective dose is about 90.6 ± 3.3 μSv per year for a cigarette consumption of one pack of cigarettes per day. This value is somewhat lower than 106.4 ± 5.3 μSv per year estimated as the mean global effective dose from smoking.