Chinese cigarettes contain heavy metals
Sunday, 10 October 2010
BEIJING, Oct 9 (PTI): Thirteen cigarette brands manufactured in China contain an excessive amount of heavy metals, up to three times the amount in Canadian-produced brands, a research report said.
The report by a Canadian Research Group compared Chinese-produced cigarettes with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium, without specifying the brands, China's official People's Daily reported.
Researchers use Canadian-produced cigarettes as a benchmark because Canadian law insists cigarette manufacturers and importers test the amount of heavy metals and the results are publicly available.
This research is part of a global project to assess the impact of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a treaty China signed in 2006, on smoking-ban policies in member countries.
Geoffrey Fong, a lead researcher from the University of Waterloo, said many consumers don't know what ingredients are contained in cigarettes.
The report was released at the 9th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health in Sydney.
Researchers tested 76 China-produced cigarette brands, compared them with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in some brands, without specifying the names, a report in Shanghai Daily said.
Restrictions are only imposed on raw materials, such as cigarette papers.
The report by a Canadian Research Group compared Chinese-produced cigarettes with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium, without specifying the brands, China's official People's Daily reported.
Researchers use Canadian-produced cigarettes as a benchmark because Canadian law insists cigarette manufacturers and importers test the amount of heavy metals and the results are publicly available.
This research is part of a global project to assess the impact of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a treaty China signed in 2006, on smoking-ban policies in member countries.
Geoffrey Fong, a lead researcher from the University of Waterloo, said many consumers don't know what ingredients are contained in cigarettes.
The report was released at the 9th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health in Sydney.
Researchers tested 76 China-produced cigarette brands, compared them with those made in other countries and found excessive levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in some brands, without specifying the names, a report in Shanghai Daily said.
Restrictions are only imposed on raw materials, such as cigarette papers.