Free Radiation with you're Cigorettes!

[TigaHawk]

TOBACCO companies knew for decades that cigarette smoke was radioactive and potentially carcinogenic but kept the information from the public, a new study says.

The industry began investigations into the possible effects of these radioactive particles, identified as polonium-210, on smokers as early as the 1960s, says a study by University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers, who analysed dozens of previously unexamined industry documents.

''I've not seen a document before that's specifically cited the industry's own internal research finding that sufficient levels of polonium-210 can cause cancer,'' Matthew Myers, of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said. The study reinforces the need for the US Food and Drug Administration to scrutinise tobacco products, he said.

Advertisement: Story continues below Late last month the FDA began requiring tobacco companies to disclose detailed information about new products and changes to existing ones. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, suggests the FDA make removal of the radioactive particles from tobacco products a top priority.

''We used to think that only the chemicals in the cigarettes were causing lung cancer,'' said Hrayr Karagueuzian, a professor of cardiology at UCLA and lead author of the study.

Now the industry's own research shows that polonium-210, absorbed by tobacco leaves and inhaled by smokers, is dangerous, Dr Karagueuzian said. UCLA researchers found that the radioactivity could cause 120 to 138 deaths for every 1000 regular smokers over a 25-year period.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/tobacco-firms-kept-radioactive-link-secret-20110930-1l1ew.html#ixzz1ZY0mogEn

[Maia Gabrial]

I used to smoke 5 and a half packs a day, if you can believe it. Wish I knew this information sooner....

[58andfixed]

Maybe an 'as it happens' television program that does autopsies on people who died from lung cancer is due.

The show could open with daily & cumulative statistics, with real actual autopsies and their black lungs.

Maybe the host could be a 'Smiley' look-alike from the old John Le Carre spy series "A Perfect Spy.'

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzoP5Tg61m1UbWoJvAvK1Ehy-qPUzBmS7x18cfpZEmd0x4J0Nz

- 58

[DNA]

Well that sucks.
And here I had been smoking organic tobacco with no additives thinking,,,"ah it's the additives that are killing people",,,wow,,,do I feel stupid.
I already knew tobaco picked up heavy metals, and uranium being the heaviest just didn't factor into my thinking.
So,,,plutonium being a man made element from uranium is only in the environment because of nuke testing right?
So, with that in mind, wouldn't areas of the world that did'nt test nukes, produce tobacco that isn't so contaminated with this stuff?
I mean, wouldn't american tobacco be the worst?
I'm sure there has to be a study on what countries have the most smoking related deaths and statistically corrolate that with the number of smokers etc.

What geographic location would be the best place to procure tobacco from?

[Lord Sidious]

Well that sucks.
And here I had been smoking organic tobacco with no additives thinking,,,"ah it's the additives that are killing people",,,wow,,,do I feel stupid.
I already knew tobaco picked up heavy metals, and uranium being the heaviest just didn't factor into my thinking.
So,,,plutonium being a man made element from uranium is only in the environment because of nuke testing right?
So, with that in mind, wouldn't areas of the world that did'nt test nukes, produce tobacco that isn't so contaminated with this stuff?
I mean, wouldn't american tobacco be the worst?
I'm sure there has to be a study on what countries have the most smoking related deaths and statistically corrolate that with the number of smokers etc.

What geographic location would be the best place to procure tobacco from?

Polonium, not plutonium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium

[DNA]

Polonium, not plutonium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium

Oh, well then, that changes quite a bit.


A rare and highly radioactive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive) element, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismuth)[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-0) and tellurium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tellurium), and it occurs in uranium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium) ores (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ore).

So if it is indeed a dirivitive or close relative of uranium, is it the proliferation of bomb testing that spread it?
It seems to be a rare element.


The knee jerk answer is obvious, quit smoking, but, hey inquiring minds wanna know. And, well smoke :drag:


Well this sucks


At 4.001 u, the alpha particle is too massive to penetrate most barriers, including intact human epidermis. If the skin is broken however, or the alpha emitter is ingested or inhaled, the high charge on the alpha particle will result in severe cellular damage



Oh snap!


Polonium has been found in tobacco smoke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoke) from tobacco leaves grown with phosphate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphate) fertilizers.[23] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-22)[24] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-23)[25] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-Muggli08-24)


This may actually be good news. Organic tobacco cannot be grown in phosphate fertilizers, because that goes against the rules of it being organic.
Sweet.

Okay maybe not.



Tobacco
The presence of polonium in tobacco smoke has been known since the early 1960s.[60] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-59)[61] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-60) Some of the world's biggest tobacco firms researched ways to remove the substance—to no avail—over a 40-year period but never published the results.[25] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-Muggli08-24)
Radioactive polonium-210 contained in phosphate fertilizers is absorbed by the roots of plants (such as tobacco) and stored in its tissues.[62] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-61)[63] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-62)[64] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-63) Tobacco plants fertilized by rock phosphates contain polonium-210, which emits alpha radiation estimated to cause about 11,700 lung cancer deaths annually worldwide.[25] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-Muggli08-24)[65] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-64)[66] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#cite_note-65)


Well all soil has to have phosphates or the plant will die.
But rock phosphate is not allowed in organic growing conditions.
The natural minerals allowed for organic farmers are sulpher to lower PH balance for more acid and limestone to make it more basic.

Non chemical soil is a big deal in organic farming.