McAdam K, Kimpton H, Porter A, Liu C, Faizi A, Mola M, McAughey J, Rodu B
Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco, Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
, 3810 St. Antoine W, Montreal, QC, H4C 1B4, Canada.
Chem Cent J. 2017 Dec 19;11(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s13065-017-0359-0.
There is considerable interest in the chemical composition of smokeless tobacco products (STPs), owing to health concerns associated with their use. Previous studies have documented levels of Po, Pb and uranium in STP samples. Here, the levels of 13 α-particle and 15 β-radiation emitting radionuclides have been measured in a broad and representative range of contemporary STPs commercially available in the United States and Sweden. For each radionuclide, the level of radioactivity and calculated mass per gram of STP are reported. The results indicate that, among 34 Swedish snus and 44 US STPs, a more complex radionuclide content exists than previously reported for these products. Of the 28 radionuclides examined, 13 were detected and quantified in one or more STPs. The most frequently identified radionuclides in these STPs were K, C, Po and Ra. Over half the STPs also contained Th, and an additional 8 radionuclides were identified in a small number of STPs. The presence of C, H and Th are reported in tobacco for the first time. The activity of β-emitters was much greater than those of α-emitters, and the β-emitter K was present in the STPs with both the greatest radioactivity and mass concentrations. Since the three radionuclides included in the FDA's HPHC list were either not detected (U), identified in only three of 78 samples (U), and/or had activity levels over fifty times lower than that of K (Po, U), there may be a rationale for reconsidering the radionuclides currently included in the FDA HPHC list, particularly with respect to K. Using a model of the physical and biological compartments which must be considered to estimate the exposure of STP users to radionuclides, we conclude that exposure from α-emitters may be minimal to STP users, but K in particular may expose the oral cavities of STP users to β-radiation. Although a more comprehensive picture of the radioisotope content of STPs has emerged from this study, epidemiological evidence suggests that the levels of radionuclides measured in this study appear unlikely to present significant risks to STP users.
由于与无烟烟草制品（STPs）使用相关的健康问题，人们对其化学成分极为关注。先前的研究记录了STP样品中钋、铅和铀的含量。在此，对美国和瑞典市面上广泛且具有代表性的一系列当代STP产品中13种发射α粒子和15种发射β辐射的放射性核素的含量进行了测量。对于每种放射性核素，报告了其放射性水平以及每克STP计算得出的质量。结果表明，在34种瑞典口含烟和44种美国STP产品中，存在比先前报道的这些产品更为复杂的放射性核素含量。在所检测的28种放射性核素中，有13种在一种或多种STP产品中被检测到并进行了定量。这些STP产品中最常鉴定出的放射性核素是钾、碳、钋和镭。超过半数的STP产品还含有钍，另外在少数STP产品中鉴定出了8种放射性核素。首次在烟草中报告了碳、氢和钍的存在。β发射体的活度远大于α发射体，并且β发射体钾在STP产品中的放射性和质量浓度都是最高的。由于美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）高优先级危害化合物（HPHC）清单中包含的三种放射性核素要么未被检测到（铀），仅在78个样品中的3个中被鉴定出（铀），和/或其活度水平比钾低五十多倍（钋、铀），因此可能有理由重新考虑目前FDA HPHC清单中所包含的放射性核素，特别是关于钾。使用一个必须考虑的物理和生物区室模型来估计STP使用者对放射性核素的暴露，我们得出结论，α发射体对STP使用者的暴露可能极小，但特别是钾可能会使STP使用者的口腔暴露于β辐射。尽管这项研究对STP产品的放射性同位素含量有了更全面的了解，但流行病学证据表明，本研究中测量的放射性核素水平似乎不太可能对STP使用者构成重大风险。
