Determination of Major, Minor and Trace Elements in Cigarette Tobacco Samples from Karbala, Iraq

Abstract

In recent years, cigarette smoking has become a major health issue, especially in terms of active and passive smoking exposure to chemicals released from the combustion of tobacco. The determination of trace elements in biological and environmental samples is very important since they play an important role in physiological processes of human and other living organisms. In this study, sixteen commercial cigarette brands were collected from Karbala, Iraq. The levels of Na, P, K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd, Sn, and Ba were determined in digested tobacco samples by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The range of elemental levels for the 16 tobacco samples were Na (84 – 384 mg/L d.w.), P (1262 – 1687 mg/L d.w.), K (16878 - 30492 mg/L d.w.), Fe (166 - 349 mg/L d.w.), Cu (3 - 10 mg/L d.w.), Zn (18 - 35 mg/L d.w.), Sr (53 - 102 mg/L d.w.), Cd (0.24 – 2.03  mg/L d.w.), Sn (25 – 35 mg/L d.w.), Ba (7 – 16 mg/L d.w.). The levels of precision and accuracy for the ICP-MS instrument were confirmed by calculation of the relative standard deviation (%RSD) and percentage recoveries (%R) using ten replicate measurements of a "pooled" tobacco sample, and certified reference materials (CRMs). The results show a good range of precision (0.8 – 2.77 %RSD) and accuracy (90 -107 %R) was obtained.