Study Forum

Highlights

• Lead and cadmium in counterfeit cigarettes seized by law enforcement agencies in the US were investigated using inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

• Compared with genuine samples, markedly higher lead and cadmium concentrations were continuously found in counterfeit cigarettes.

• Geographic origins of counterfeit cigarettes affect lead and cadmium concentration.

Information of toxic elements such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in counterfeit cigarettes offers insight on the potential public health impact of consuming counterfeit cigarettes and the technology used by counterfeiters in the illicit cigarette trade. In this study, the concentration of Pb and Cd in twenty-three packs of counterfeit cigarettes seized in the US by various law enforcement agencies were evaluated and compared with their genuine equivalents using microwave digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. Both Pb and Cd concentration in counterfeit cigarettes were markedly higher than those in their genuine equivalents, and exhibited greater sample to sample variability. The average Pb and Cd mass fraction values in counterfeit cigarettes were (5.13 ± 2.50) mg/kg (n = 23) and (5.13 ± 1.95) mg/kg (n = 23) respectively, compared with (0.59 ± 0.08) mg/kg (n = 9) and (1.08 ± 0.08) mg/kg (n = 9) respectively in the genuine equivalents. Results suggest that counterfeit cigarettes may impose higher risks to public health. Studying these toxic elements could provide important information regarding the illicit trade, including the level of organization among counterfeiters, who broker between availability of supplies and consumer demand for a cheaper product that is assumed to be genuine.