Tobacco‐specific nitrosamines in smokeless tobacco products marketed in India

Smokeless tobacco products are a known cause of oral cancer in India. Carcinogenic tobacco‐specific nitrosamines in these products are believed to be at least partially responsible for cancer induction, but there have been no recent analyses of their amounts. We quantified levels of 4 tobacco‐specific nitrosamines, N′‐nitrosonornicotine (NNN), N′‐nitrosoanatabine (NAT), N′‐nitrosoanabasine (NAB) and 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone (NNK), in 32 products marketed currently in India. Levels of nitrate, nitrite and nicotine were also determined. The highest levels of tobacco‐specific nitrosamines were found in certain brands of khaini, zarda and other smokeless tobacco products. Concentrations of NNN and NNK in these products ranged from 1.74–76.9 and 0.08–28.4 μg/g, respectively. Levels of tobacco‐specific nitrosamines in gutka were generally somewhat lower than in these products, but still considerably higher than nitrosamine levels in food. Tobacco‐specific nitrosamines were rarely detected in supari, which does not contain tobacco, or in tooth powders. The results of our study demonstrate that exposure to substantial amounts of carcinogenic tobacco‐specific nitrosamines through use of smokeless tobacco products remains a major problem in India. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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