Radioactivity in Tobacco

The fertilizers that tobacco farmers use to increase the size of their tobacco crops contain the naturally-occurring radionuclide radium and its decay products. As the plant grows, the radioactive material from fertilizer, soil, and rocks, is absorbed by the roots and leaves of the plant. Tobacco products later made from these plants also contain radioactive elements. One of radon’s decay products, polonium-210, carries the most risk.

• About Radioactivity in Tobacco
• What you can do
• Where to learn more

About Radioactivity in Tobacco

You have probably heard of many reasons not to smoke or use other tobacco product, Here is one more: tobacco contains small amounts of radionuclides. One in five deaths each year in the United States is from tobacco use or secondhand smoke exposure—that’s around 480,000 people annually or 1,300 people every day. Chemicals in tobacco smoke are the main reason cigarettes cause cancer, but radiation also may play a part.

Naturally occurring radium found in the soil, rocks and from fertilizers can be taken up by the roots of the tobacco plant. Radium radioactively decays to release radon gas, which then rises from the soil around the plants. Radon later decays into the radioactive elements lead-210 and polonium-210. As the plant grows, radon decay products, like polonium-210, cling to the sticky hairs on the bottom of tobacco leaves. Rain does not wash the decay products away. Polonium-210 is an alpha emitter and carries the most risk. Learn the radiation basics.

Cigarettes made from tobacco still contain these radioactive elements. The radioactive particles settle in a smoker's lungs, where they continue to build up as long as the person smokes. Over time, the radiation can damage the lungs and contribute to lung cancer risk. 

Cigarette smoking can make users more at risk to other cancer-causing contaminants. For example, smoking and radon together make it much more likely for smokers to get lung cancer than smokers who aren’t around radon. Radon is a gas that you can't see or smell. It is radioactive and comes from the ground. It can get into buildings through cracks in the foundation. Learn more about Radon in Homes, Schools and Buildings.

What You Can Do

• Do not chew or smoke tobacco.  This helps to avoid the health effects from chemicals and radiation in tobacco products.
• Stay away from secondhand smoke as much as you can. This helps to limit your exposure to chemicals and radiation from tobacco products used by others.