[Exposure of smokers to phenols in cigarette smoke depending on the conditions of smoking].

It was examined the influence of differentiated conditions of cigarette smoking, i.e. time (1, 2 and 3 s) and speed (12, 17.5 and 23 cm3/s) of inhalation as well as length of breaks between inhalations (15, 20 and 30 s) on the content of volatile in steam phenols in the main stream of cigarette smoke. The cigarettes "Ekstra Mocne z filtrem" were examined. The components of the smoke produced in a smoking simulator were absorbed in methanol. The fraction of volatile in steam phenols was distilled and spectrophotometrically assayed after the reaction with diazo-p-nitroaniline salt. The content of phenol in the smoke, depending on the smoking conditions altered from 101 to 185 micrograms/l cigarette. Conditions of smoking responding to the intermediate values of time of inhalation (2 s) and breaks between inhalations (20 s) and the higher values of speed of inhalation (23 cm3/s) make for the increase of the examined phenols content. Toxicological estimation of doses accepted by smokers smoking 20 cigarettes a day show that they are 9-16 times higher than the maximum acceptable 24 hour dose, determined during environmental exposure to phenols from atmospheric air. Concluding smoking of cigarettes can be the main source of the exposure to phenols.