Abstract: Tobacco leaves contain various natural radioactive nuclides, smoking may increase internal radiation dose to the human body. This paper analyzed the ²¹⁰Po levels in 36 domestic cigarette brands and 4 foreign cigarette brands. The analysis results showed that the ²¹⁰Po content in domestic cigarettes ranged from 22.3 to 48.6 mBq/g (or 13.1 to 29.9 mBq per cigarette), with an average of 32.9 mBq/g (or 20.2 mBq per cigarette); while in foreign cigarettes, ²¹⁰Po content ranged from 18.5 to 24.3 mBq/g (or 11.1 to 12.7 mBq per cigarette), with an average of 21.2 mBq/g (or 12.1 mBq per cigarette). Overall, the ²¹⁰Po content in domestic cigarettes was slightly higher than that in foreign cigarettes. Based on the ²¹⁰Po content in tobacco shreds, it was estimated that the amount of ²¹⁰Po inhaled by Chinese smokers from cigarettes was approximately from 24.85 to 150.29 mBq per day, and the internal radiation equivalent dose to the lung tissue was from 27.48 to 166.22 μSv per year.

Key words: tobacco, ²¹⁰Po, content