Abstract

Background: Tobacco snuff is a finely ground powered substance obtained by crushing the leaves of the plant Nicotiana tabaccum. It is sometimes contaminated with some heavy metals such as lead, which can accumulate in the body following prolonged use, resulting in adverse health conditions.
Objective: To evaluate for the presence of the heavy metal lead in different samples of tobacco snuff obtained from various geopolitical zones of Nigeria, to compare it with the imported samples, and to assess their conformation to permissible limits by the Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) recommendation.
Materials and Methods: The basket protocol sample collection method was used to collect 30 samples of tobacco snuff obtained from various geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The wet acid digestion method was used to determine the lead (Pb) content of each sample, using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Result: The study showed that 25 (83%) of the samples exceeded the FAO/WHO lead violation level whereas 5 (17%) were below the limit. Also, 27 (90%) of the samples were found to exceed the daily permissible consumption levels of lead when compared to the provisional tolerable intake levels determined by the FAO/WHO. Besides, the foreign tobacco samples were found to contain more lead than the locally made (Nigeria) samples. Conclusion: The study showed that samples of tobacco snuff obtained from various parts of Nigeria were contaminated with the heavy metal lead. This constitutes a major health risk to the users as prolonged usage could result in lead toxicity that can be life threatening.