DocM Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 The problem is Polonium-210, a trace isotope that is found in the mined phosphate fertilizers used for tobacco. The inverted curing of the tobacco concentrates it further in the leaves. Polonium-210 emits alpha particles - energetic (5.307 MeV) helium nuclei that can easily ionize matter including DNA. The decay product - Lead-206. Polonium-210 is therefore, by mass, ~250,000 times as toxic as hydrogen cyanide. After years of this accumulated damage cancers can erupt, and in fact out of 1,000 smokers 138 (13.8%) will get Polonium-210 related cancers. A common use for Polonium-210 is in combination with Beryllium for initiators - the trigger at the center of a nuclear weapon. Years ago I told some of my students about this but they didn't believe it. To prove the point we bought a pack and enlisted the help of a radiology department tech. We stripped the tobacco from the cigarettes, put it under a nuclear medicine imager and sure enough it showed a dim but perfectly clear image of the tobacco. Jaws dropped. ABC News.... Tobacco Companies Knew of Radiation in Cigarettes, Covered It UpTobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades, a new study of historical documents revealed. Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, reviewed 27 previously unanalyzed documents and found that tobacco companies knew about the radioactive content of cigarettes as early as 1959. The companies studied the polonium throughout the 1960s, knew that it caused "cancerous growths" in the lungs of smokers, and even calculated how much radiation a regular smoker would ingest over 20 years. Then, they kept that data secret. Hrayr Karagueuzian, the study's lead author, said the companies' level of deception surprised him. "They not only knew of the presence of polonium, but also of its potential to cause cancer," he said. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotoxic_hazard_835 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Tobacco companies are evil and people know it. They ignore the fact that smoking is not only the most disgusting habit the human race has ever come up with, but also is terribly damaging to health. They ignore this because all they care is their nicotine fix. Reacon and crazzy88ss 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S. Veteran Posted September 30, 2011 Veteran Share Posted September 30, 2011 Not to defend cigarette, but Potassium is also radioactive, due to its isotope 40, and it's omnipresent in the human body. Of course it's not a concern because the doses are very low (16mrad/year of beta rays, 2mrad/year of gamma rays). Nonetheless, without some numbers quantifying the amount of radioactivity generated by tobacco, simply saying it's radioactive isn't really cause for concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey B. Veteran Posted September 30, 2011 Veteran Share Posted September 30, 2011 In no way do I support the use of tobacco however, everything is radioactive, everything when tested emmits some sort of radiation, I understand this is potentially harmful however if they looked at a lot more safe things I am sure they would find results such as this as well, it just seams like a negetive propaganda campaign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 meh. just keep raising taxes on tobacco. problem will sort itself out eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Actually it's not a scare campaign - this effects been known for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadEndAccount Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ok, standing back and thinking about it for a second - what happens if one grew organic tobacco without all the chemicals etc. would that have any impact on the safety of smoking? sure smoking doesn't help ones health but would be be healthier than the tobacco mentioned in the article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted September 30, 2011 Veteran Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ok, standing back and thinking about it for a second - what happens if one grew organic tobacco without all the chemicals etc. would that have any impact on the safety of smoking? sure smoking doesn't help ones health but would be be healthier than the tobacco mentioned in the article? American Spirit is already additive free and has an organic blend... It's still deadly tobacco smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpotato Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You know what else is radioactive? crt tv's/monitors, smoke detectors, some bullets, glow-in-the-dark stuff, Japan, bananas, and probably a whole lot of others things we come across every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulsiphon Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Everthing is radioactive to some extent - @giantpotato knows the deal. Actually it's not a scare campaign - this effects been known for quite a while. The fact radiation courses through everything to some extent has also been known for quite awhile. Please don't start a new thread every time you find something trivially radioactive k? :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Ingested Po-210 is most all passed through - no real harm. Inhaled, particulate Po-210 sticks in the respiratory mucosa which is the problem, and it causes thousands of deaths a year. That is not trivial, Sir. Glassed Silver 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 So this will kill off lung tumors at the same time .... or bring them on ? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttus Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 people already know smoking tobacco is terribly bad for you, any new info that just shows it's worse isn't going to change anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tender Foot Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Bananas are radioactive too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Bananas are radioactive too That's why I feed them to the step-kids ... :shifty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebor Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 some bullets, glow-in-the-dark stuff, Japan, Yuo mean Depleted Uranium bullets? clue is kinda in the name Glow in the dark stuff used to be when they used Radium but they don't any more Japan, Harsh but LOL :) too soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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