Analytical evaluation of the iron transfer from cigarette tobacco to human body

It was analytically examined how great amount of total iron can be absorbed during cigarette smoking. For this purpose, tobacco taken from cigarettes of selected brands (Marlboro, L&M, and Popular) was carefully analyzed before and after smoking. In addition, the cigarette filters were checked in terms of iron content. In all samples iron was determined by means of spectrophotometric method with sulfosalicylic acid. The method was realized with the aid of an original flow system allowing the analytical calibration to be performed with high reliability. As a result iron present in a sample in trace amount was able to be found with very good accuracy and with precision not exceeding 1.5% (in RSD). It was stated that typical amount of iron in a single cigarette is ranged between 0.3 and 0.4 mg. When smoking the risk should be taken into account that even 99% of this amount is transferred to human body without any chance to be limited by the cigarette filter.