A Study on The Radon Concentrations in Tobacco in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and The Associated Health Effects

Radon and cigarette smoking have synergistic, multiplicative effect on lung cancer rates. Smokers and nonsmoking residents of smoking households are at increased risk for lung cancer even when radon levels are relatively low. People who inhale tobacco smoke are exposed to higher concentrations of radioactivity. Ever since studies on the relation of smoking to cancer—particularly the lung cancer—has been established, there had been a great interest in studies concerned with the monitoring of the alpha radioactivity in tobacco. Radium-226 (226Ra) is a significant source of radon-222 (222Rn), which enters buildings through soil, construction materials, or water supply. When cigarette smoke is present, the radon daughters attach to smoke particles. Thus, the alpha radiation dose to a smoker's lungs from the natural radon daughters is increased because of smoking. To investigate whether the cigarette tobacco itself is a potential source of indoor radon, the levels of radon and thoron from radioactive decay were measured in tobacco samples of 15 different brands using CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). The results showed that the 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations in cigarette tobacco samples ranged from 97 to 204 Bqm-3 and 38 to 104 Bqm-3, respectively. The radon concentrations emerged from all investigated samples were significantly higher than the background level. The annual equivalent doses from use of these tobaccos were determined. The measurement of the average indoor radon concentrations in 30 café rooms was, significantly, higher than 30 smoke-free residential houses. The result refers to the dual (chemical and radioactive) effect of smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer.