Polonium, Lead and Cigarettes

The fact that cigarette smoking causes cancer and coronary heart disease is well known documented. Both tar and nicotine have been implicated in these disorders. But now, more and more indicators show another deadly ingredient in cigarette smoke: radiation.

The increasing evidence is showing that alpha radiation, the most damaging type, in tobacco promotes changes in normal cells which result in cancerous growth. So says research associate Lynn Campbell of the American Council on Science and Health.

The source of this radioactivity comes from two substances: polonium-210 and lead-210.   

Polonium-210 results from the decay of radon, a substance produced from naturally occurring uranium below the earth. (Radon has also been shown to cause lung cancer.) Tobacco contains substantial amounts of polonium which produces alpha radiation and cigarette smoke helps deliver it to the cells or the smoker and non-smoker alike. Children, because of their rapid growth, are especially susceptible to harmful effects the alpha radiation of tobacco smoke in the air.

The 1982 Surgeon General's Report cited several studies which verified the presence of radioactive polonium-210 in tobacco smoke.

Lead-210, another radioactive atom dangerous to human health, has also been found in tobacco. Like polonium-210, it too directly effects living cells via alpha radiation in tobacco smoke. But unlike polonium-210, lead-210 is very concentrated in tobacco.

Many people believe that the alpha radiation produced in tobacco smoke from both polo-nium-210 and lead-210 is a dominant factor in the development of lung cancer. It's reported that 325,000 people a year die not just from lung cancer, but coronary heart disease and, other problems related to cigarette smoking.