A comparative analysis of heavy metals present in cigarette and cigarette leachate

Abstract Smoked cigarette and butts are the most common forms of litter globally. The local water bodies and their compartments have been severely polluted by the accumulation of these litters and the cumulative effect of many cigarette butts littered in a centralised area may present a significant threat to the living organisms. It is essential to study the leaching behaviour of cigarettes to understand how the heavy metals are leached out into the aquatic ecosystem. In this context, we determined the concentration of different metals (such as Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Sn, Zn & Hg) leached from the different brands of unsmoked and smoked cigarette and cigarette butts by using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The results revealed that the amounts of heavy metal are higher in butt samples (USB and SB) of both cigarette and leachate irrespective of brands, compared to the tobacco part of the cigarette and the concentrations of certain toxic heavy metals in cigarettes were significantly different between cigarette brands tested. These results suggest that cigarette litter was found to be one of the major sources of metal contamination in the aquatic ecosystem and apparent leaching may increase the risk of toxicity to aquatic organisms.