Radioactive Smoke
- People worldwide smoke almost six trillion cigarettes a year and each one delivers a small amount of polonium 210 to the lungs
- The poison builds up to the equivalent radiation dosage of 300 chest x-rays a year for a person who smokes one and a half packs a day
- Although polonium may not be the primary carcinogen in cigarette smoke, it may nonetheless cause thousands of deaths a year in the U.S. alone
- The tobacco industry has known about polonium in cigarettes for nearly 50 years
- Manufacturers even devised processes that would dramatically cut down the isotope’s concentrations in cigarette smoke but still do nothing and keep it a secret
- In June 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law
- It brings tobacco for the first time under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, allowing the agency to regulate certain components of cigarettes
- In the first half of the 1960s the health effects of radiation, and in particular of radioactive fallout, were very much on the minds of scientists—as well as on the minds of most other people
- In 1965, radiobiologist and physician John B. Little examined lung tissue from smokers for signs of polonium
- Little was able to demonstrate that polonium did in fact collect in specific areas of the lung since our air ways branch into bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli, the radioisotopes settle and concentrate at the points of bifurcation
- There they form “hot spots” of radioactivity, emitting alpha particles
- Martell reasons that smokers’ chronic exposure to low, concentrated doses, polonium 210 was likely the primary cause of their lung cancer and perhaps—as he suggested later—of other types of cancer as well
- Cigarette smoke have also been found to be powerful carcinogens, and today most experts would probably say that the main ones are chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines
- Based on risk from radiation exposure suggest that polonium 210 may be responsible for 2 percent of smoke-induced lung cancers, and thus for several thousands of deaths a year in the U.S. alone
- In the 1990s historic lawsuits brought by 46 U.S. states against the industry forced manufacturers to admit that smoking is dangerous and addictive, and resulted in the release of millions of internal documents
- Internal memos show that the tobacco manufacturers were concerned that they might suffer a public affairs disaster if what they knew about polonium came to light
- To reduce polonium in cigarette smoke was the adding of materials to tobacco that would react with lead and polonium to prevent their transfer to smoke and developing a filter that would block polonium vapor
- Another straightforward option, following Martell’s research in the 1970s, was to simply wash the tobacco leaves with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide
- Removing polonium would have no commercial advantage
- After the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in June 2009, the American Cancer Society lauded it for requiring the tobacco industry to disclose the “poisons in its products.”
- This legislation offers the first opportunity to challenge and force the tobacco industry to act on the results of their years of study
- The World Health Organization has made clear that smoking is the most avoidable cause of death
- It estimates that 1.3 million people die of lung cancer worldwide every year, 90 percent because of smoking
- If polonium had been reduced through methods known to the industry, many thousands of those deaths could have been avoided
Every year, in that given period of time, people will have been smoking about six trillion cigarettes and that each one delivers a small amount of polonium 210 to the lungs. With each breathe, in and out, the poison can accumulate up to 300 chest x-rays a year for someone who smokes one and a half packs a day. Wow, that really packs a punch! Haha! Anyways, polonium may not seem like the primary carcinogen in cigarette smoke, it still accounts for the thousands of deaths a year in the U.S. Unfortunately, the tobacco industry has known that polonium existed in cigarettes for nearly 50 years! In addition, they also would even keep it a secret and neither said nor do anything about it when they knew the problem can be fixed. However, the tides have turned around and in 2009, Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law which regulated the components in cigarettes. Up until the 1960s, lots of interest have gone down to people's minds and much research have been done in studying more about radiation on how it affected health. It came to a drawing conclusion that although there was polonium in smoke, it turns into vapor at certain temperatures. A couple years later, John B. Little looked closely at the lung tissues from smokers to see if polonium was evident. He found that the radioisotopes were able to settle and concentrate on the specific areas of our lungs at bifurcation. Another individual whose name was Martell shows us that the consumption/doses of polonium was causing cancer. Besides polonium, other chemicals like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines are the main ones. Finally, the authority and power of the FDA has shown its true colors to put an end to the tobacco industries and many others alike to admit for their wrongful actions and did everything they can to diminish the levels of polonium behind the doors to avoid their reputation with the public to get hurt. Also, they were required to disclose all the information on the poisons in their products. The WHO made it clear that smoking can be easily solved by taking the simplest actions and the 1.3 million people that died due to lung cancer could have been saved.
I believe that the choice to smoke is solely based on that individual's decision. However, the protection from the products we buy should be highly enforced. It isn't right for the industries to take out on us like that and leaving people to die in order to gain profit. I think this is an inhumane way for someone to die for not knowing the facts about how deadly that product can offer. This just crosses the line in our society and I don't think that this should be left unsolved any longer. Just like any other products like cosmetics, we need to be informed of everything so that we are aware and can take precautions. Finally, I would like to end on a note that what if these people of the industries are in our shoes and to be notified from a health official in a hospital to know that it was our last day to live and then hearing that the product that was used is very harmful. I am eager to see how they would feel and know what its like in our situation.