Yields of Cadmium, Tar, Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide in Mainstream Smoke of Greek Cigarettes: A Comparative Study

A comparative study of the mainstream smoke chemical composition of major brands of cigarettes produced in Greece has been conducted. The concentrations of tar, nicotine, CO and cadmium in the mainstream smoke of 32 cigarette brands were determined. In addition, the concentration of Cd in cigarette tobacco was also measured and the transfer rate of Cd from tobacco to smoke was calculated. Smoking of cigarettes and determination of tar, nicotine and CO were carried out by the ISO standard methods (ISO 8243, 3308, 4387, 10315, 10362, 3402, 8454), while the concentration of Cd was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry coupled with a graphite furnace (GF-AAS) after acid digestion of tobacco and total particulate matter (TPM) samples. Results were explained in relation to technical specifications of cigarettes. Depending on the amount of tar, cigarettes were classified into seven groups: non filter (NF), 100 mm long cigarettes (L 100), high (H), medium (M), low (L), super low (SL) and ultra low tar yields (UL). Low concentrations of Cd were found in the tobacco of most cigarette brands (94-572 ng/cig), thus resulting in low Cd concentrations in TPM (2-55 ng/cig). The transfer rates of Cd from cigarette tobacco to TPM ranged from 2 % (UL) up to 12 % (H). Relationships among the measured parameters were investigated by the Spearman correlation analysis. Concentrations of cadmium in TPM were strongly correlated with tar and followed the variation of Cd concentrations in cigarette tobacco. However, this tendency was not observed in ultra light cigarettes probably because of a cigarette ventilation effect. The transfer percentage of Cd in TPM was highly correlated with tar, although it was independent of the initial concentration of Cd in tobacco. Finally, factor analysis showed that concentrations of tar, nicotine, and CO in mainstream smoke were influenced by technical specifications of cigarettes, while concentrations of Cd in TPM were influenced by the initial level of Cd in tobacco.