[Cadmium studies on the effect of environment, soil and variety on tobacco and cadmium transfer into cigarette smoke].

The results as outlined in this paper are based on a 10-year-investigation by the Tobacco Research Institute, Forchheim. Emissions into the environment may lead to higher Cd-content of tobacco and other crops. Geological soil conditions may influence the soil/plant--Cd-transfer. Genetically dependent variety differences in Cd-uptake can be found in field as well as in greenhouse experiments. A comparison between domestic and foreign leaf tobaccos showed Cd-levels at the same order of magnitude. Analyses of German cigarette brands (with and without filter) demonstrated that 0.05 micrograms Cd/cigarette are transferred from cigarette tobacco into the mainstream smoke, corresponding to a mean transfer rate of 5.1%.