The Determination of Malathion Residues in Tobacco and Tobacco Smoke Condensate

A method was developed to determine Malathion on tobacco and in smoke condensate at levels of 0.05 ppm and above. A study on the Malathion content of leaf tobacco, cigarette tobacco, and the transfer rate from cigarettes into the mainstream smoke was made. The analysis revealed that the air-cured tobacco contained 0.1 ppm of the pesticide, while the flue-cured samples and cigarettes contained less than 0.05 ppm. The transfer studies indicated that approximately 91-92 % of Malathion is lost during the smoking of cigarettes.