Evaluated the Levels of Lead and Cadmium in Scalp Hair of Adolescent Boys Consuming Different Smokeless Tobacco Products with Related to Controls

Abstract

The present study was aimed to evaluate the cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) levels in the scalp hair samples of adolescent boys age ranged 12-15 years, chewing different smokeless tobacco (SLT) products. For comparative purpose, boys of the same age group who did not consume any SLT products were selected as referents. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in SLT products and the scalp hair samples were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometer (ETAAS) after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The validity and accuracy of the methodology were checked by certified reference materials (CRMs). The difference between experimental and certified values of both elements was not significant (p > 0.05). The resulted data indicated that the adolescent boys who consumed different SLT products have two- to threefold higher levels of Cd and Pb in the scalp hair samples as compared to the referent boys (p < 0.01). The adolescent chewing different SLT products have 82.2-110 and 60.6-94.5% higher levels of Cd and Pb, respectively, in their scalp hair as related to the referents.