The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessment of heavy metals from the butts of smoked and non-smoked cigarettes

Abstract

Cigarettes are known as the most popular tobacco in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals in smoked and non-smoked cigarette butts (CBs) from ten cigarette brands (including five Iranian brands) and human health risk assessment associated with inhalation exposure. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for heavy metals measurement after CBs digestion. The results showed that the highest concentrations of heavy metals in non-smoked and smoked cigarette butts are related to Pb (0.63 ± 0.21 µg/g) and Ni (0.81 ± 1.48 µg/g), respectively. The concentration of all heavy metals in smoked CBs is significantly higher than in non-smoked. According to the results, Ni and Cd elements in 60% of Iranian brands and 80% of other brands have HI > 1, which indicates a potential non-carcinogenic risk for consumers. Also, the carcinogenic risk of Cr in all brands is higher than 1.00E-4, which indicates the carcinogenic risk of the consumer in case of continuous exposure to cigarette smoke. Heavy metals in CBs can have potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects on the health of smokers exposed to inhalation. Therefore, continuous monitoring and regulation of the ingredients of domestically produced and imported cigarettes are recommended.

Keywords:

• Cigarette smoking
• heavy metals
• risk assessment
• Iran

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Kashan University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of this research. The research project was financially supported by the Research Affairs of Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. (Grant No. 96155). This research project was approved by the ethics committee of Kashan University of Medical Sciences. The ethical code of this study was IR.KAUMS.NUHEPM.REC.1396.11.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.

Authors’ contributions

Amir Ghaderi, Nezam Mirzaei and Hamid Reza Banafshe conceived the study. Zeinab Parmoozeh and Gholamreza Mostafaei provided samples for the study. Mahdiyeh Mohammadzadeh, Reza Fouladi-Fard and Seyed Gholam Abbas Mousavi performed statistical analysis, review and editing. Mahdiyeh Mohammadzadeh and Nezam Mirzaei drafted the first version of the manuscript. Morad Rasoli azad, Heshmatollah Moradpour, and Reza Fouladi-Fard contributed to data elaboration and interpretation. All authors contributed to manuscript preparation and to the final version.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Kashan University of Medical Sciences (grant number 96155).