CONTRIBUTION OF CIGARETTE SMOKING TO CADMIUM ACCUMULATION IN MAN

Cadmium, a non-essential, potentially toxic metal, accumulates in human tissues with increasing age. Because many foods contain cadmium, the diet has been considered the major source for man. Cigarette tobacco contains appreciable amounts of cadmium, which on burning passes into the smoke. Analysis of necropsy material has shown that non-smokers accumulate smaller amounts of cadmium in their organs than smokers. In addition, the accumulation in smokers is related to the number of pack-years smoked. It is concluded that tobacco constitutes a major source for cadmium accumulation in man; and in heavy smokers, inhalation of the cadmium contained in tobacco smoke may make a greater contribution to the total body burden than the amount derived by dietary intake.