Arsenic and Cadmium in Cigar Fillers: A Comparative Study within Cigar Types and with Cigarettes

Cigar use has increased since the early 1990s; however, there is limited research on the quantity of carcinogenic metals such as arsenic and cadmium in cigars in general and especially within each of the numerous cigar types. The levels of cadmium and arsenic present in the tobacco filler of 67 little cigars, 21 cigarillos, and 19 large cigars were quantitatively analyzed using "triple-quad" inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Median arsenic concentrations in little cigars, cigarillos (medium-sized cigars), and large cigars were 0.219, 0.224, and 0.193 μg/g, respectively. For cadmium, the median concentration in little cigars was 1.21 μg/g while both cigarillos and large cigars had median cadmium concentrations of 1.32 μg/g. Median arsenic and cadmium concentrations on a per gram basis differed significantly across cigar types (Kruskal-Wallis, both p < 0.05). Pairwise Wilcoxon tests showed no difference in median arsenic concentrations between little cigars and cigarillos, and no difference in median cadmium concentrations between cigarillos and large cigars. Metal concentrations in cigar types also varied by manufacturer and marketed flavor. High arsenic concentrations did not necessarily correspond with high cadmium concentrations for specific manufacturers and marketed flavors. Cigarettes had higher median arsenic concentration than each cigar type, and median arsenic concentration differed significantly for all cigarette-cigar comparisons (all p < 0.05). For cadmium, median concentrations in cigarettes and little cigars were similar (p = 0.308), whereas cigarettes had lower median cadmium concentration than cigarillos and large cigars (both p < 0.05). Although in some cases the carcinogenic metal concentrations are similar between cigars and cigarettes in this study, these two tobacco product categories have many different physical characteristics and are used differently, which likely affects mainstream smoke exposure and the related health impacts of the metal content.