Chinese cigs heavy in metals
By Wang Qingchu |
October 9, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CIGARETTE brands manufactured in China contain excessive amount of heavy metals, up to three times the amount found in smokes produced in Canada, a research report said.
Researchers tested 76 China-produced cigarette brands, compared them with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in some brands, without specifying the names, the Beijing-based Legal Daily reported yesterday.
Researchers use Canada-produced cigarettes as a benchmark because Canadian law requires cigarette manufacturers and importers to test the amount of heavy metals and make public the results.
Geoffrey Fong, a professor of psychology and health at the University of Waterloo, Ontario in Canada, said the culprit might be the soil where the tobacco grows. If the soil is contaminated with heavy metals like lead or cadmium, tobacco grown in the soil will absorb the toxicants.
"We only tested the amount of heavy metal in one cigarette, but the real problem is repeated exposure. Smokers don't just smoke one cigarette, since smoking is addictive. They may smoke around 20 cigarettes every day for many years," wrote Richard O'Connor of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.
Jin Zhongli, deputy director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's science and technology department, said China has no regulations on the limit of heavy metal levels contained in one cigarette. Restrictions are only imposed on raw materials, such as cigarette papers.
Jin said foreign countries have no such regulations, either.
O'Connor and his colleagues wrote the report, which is published in the latest issue of Tobacco Control.
China has the world's largest smoking population of over 320 million and is the biggest tobacco maker, producing 2.16 trillion cigarettes in 2007, according to Tobacco Atlas.
Smoking-related diseases claim millions in China every year.
The country has enacted a series of smoking bans in such major cities as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, cutting smoking in public areas.
Researchers tested 76 China-produced cigarette brands, compared them with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in some brands, without specifying the names, the Beijing-based Legal Daily reported yesterday.
Researchers use Canada-produced cigarettes as a benchmark because Canadian law requires cigarette manufacturers and importers to test the amount of heavy metals and make public the results.
Geoffrey Fong, a professor of psychology and health at the University of Waterloo, Ontario in Canada, said the culprit might be the soil where the tobacco grows. If the soil is contaminated with heavy metals like lead or cadmium, tobacco grown in the soil will absorb the toxicants.
"We only tested the amount of heavy metal in one cigarette, but the real problem is repeated exposure. Smokers don't just smoke one cigarette, since smoking is addictive. They may smoke around 20 cigarettes every day for many years," wrote Richard O'Connor of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.
Jin Zhongli, deputy director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's science and technology department, said China has no regulations on the limit of heavy metal levels contained in one cigarette. Restrictions are only imposed on raw materials, such as cigarette papers.
Jin said foreign countries have no such regulations, either.
O'Connor and his colleagues wrote the report, which is published in the latest issue of Tobacco Control.
China has the world's largest smoking population of over 320 million and is the biggest tobacco maker, producing 2.16 trillion cigarettes in 2007, according to Tobacco Atlas.
Smoking-related diseases claim millions in China every year.
The country has enacted a series of smoking bans in such major cities as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, cutting smoking in public areas.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
