You. Your Cigarettes. Radiation Worse Than Chernobyl. What Corporation’s DON’T want you to know.

Do you know what you’re actually putting into your body?
The radiation dose from radium and polonium found naturally in tobacco can be a thousand times more than that from the caesium-137 taken up by the leaves from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
NewScientist.

Do you even know how much of that stuff is comparable to Japan?
While Japan has been spewing out only 7millirems, smoking two packs of cigarettes a day imparts a radiation dose by Polonium 210-emitted alpha particles of about 1,300 millirem per year.

On another....The radiation level in central Tokyo reached a high of 0.109 microsieverts per hour in Shinjuku Ward Thursday, data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health show He found that the dose from natural radionuclides was 251 microsieverts a year from smoking.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/03c95c2d2ad0.jpg[/atsimg]

Isotopes: Radium and Polonium
Tobacco companies have covered up for 40 years the fact that cigarette smoke contains a dangerous radioactive substance that exposes heavy smokers to the radiation equivalent of having 300 chest X-rays a year. Due to improvements in X-ray technology and increasing levels of radionuclides in tobacco, the Institute of Medicine now estimates that a heavy smoker is exposed to the equivalent radiation as up to 2,000 chest X-rays every year.

How does radioactive material get into a cigarette?
The tobacco leaves used in making cigarettes contain radioactive material, particularly lead-210 and polonium-210. The radionuclide content of tobacco leaves depends heavily on soil conditions and fertilizer use.
Soils that contain elevated radium lead to high radon gas emanations rising into the growing tobacco crop. Radon rapidly decays into a series of solid, highly radioactive metals (radon decay products). These metals cling to dust particles which in turn are collected by the sticky tobacco leaves. The sticky compound that seeps from the trichomes is not water soluble, so the particles do not wash off in the rain. There they stay, through curing process, cutting, and manufacture into cigarettes.Lead-210 and Polonium-210 can be absorbed into tobacco leaves directly from the soil. But more importantly, fine, sticky hairs (called trichomes) on both sides of tobacco leaves grab airborne radioactive particles.

For example, phosphate fertilizers, favored by the tobacco industry, contain radium and its decay products (including lead-210 and polonium-210). When phosphate fertilizer is spread on tobacco fields year after year, the concentration of lead-210 and polonium-210 in the soil rises.

What happens when I smoke a cigarette?
Research indicates that lead-210 and polonium-210 are present in tobacco smoke as it passes into the lung. The concentration of lead-210 and polonium-210 in tobacco leaf is relatively low, however, this low concentration can accumulate into very high concentrations in the lungs of smokers.

As it passes into the lungs, the smoke impacts the branches of the lung passages, called bronchioles, where the branches split. Tar from tobacco smoke builds up there, and traps lead-210 and polonium-210 against the sensitive tissues of the bronchioles. Studies show filters on ordinary commercial cigarette remove only a modest amount of radioactivity from the smoke inhaled into the lungs of smokers. Most of what is deposited is lead-210, but polonium-210 (whose half life is about 138 days) quickly grows in as the lead-210 (half life = 22.3 years) decays and becomes the dominant radionuclide. Over time, the concentration of polonium-210 directly on tissues of the bronchioles grows very high, and intense localized radiation doses can occur at the bronchioles.

www.epa.gov...

A half life is how long it takes for HALF of the radiation to decay and then half of that and so on..The contamination is sourced in naturally occurring radioactive radon gas which is absorbed and trapped in apatite rock. Apatite, or phosphate rock, is mined for the purpose of formulating the phosphate portion of most chemical fertilizers. Polonium releases ionizing alpha radiation which is 20 times more harmful than either beta or gamma radiation when exposed to internal organs.

What’s worse is that the isotope, 210Po, causes ALPHA radiation.
This type of radiation is basically a Helium atom. Once inside...it won't get out, and it does a lot of damage due to being highly ionising (it knocks electrons off other atoms).
It's not penetrating..so it's no harm if it's outside since it can't get in...but once you smoked, it's in and won't get out.

Lung cancer rates increased significantly during most of the 1900's. It's no coincidence that between 1938 and 1960, the level of polonium 210 in American tobacco tripled commensurate with the increased use of chemical fertilizers and Persistant Organic Pollutant (POP) accumulation.

Smoking two packs of cigarettes a day imparts a radiation dose by Polonium 210-emitted alpha particles of about 1,300 millirem per year. For comparison, the annual radiation dose to the average American from inhaled radon is 200 mrem.

In addition, polonium 210 is soluble and is circulated through the body to every tissue and cell in levels much higher than from residential radon. The proof is that it can be found in the blood and urine of smokers. The circulating polonium 210 causes genetic damage and early death from diseases reminiscent of early radiological pioneers: liver and bladder cancer, stomach ulcer, leukemia, cirrhosis of the liver and cardiovascular diseases.

The Cover-Up
Co-operations knew this from 1964 and scientists knew this from 1980...but I never knew about this, did you?

Inhalation tests have shown that PO-210 is a cause of lung cancer in animals.

It has also been estimated to be responsible for 1% of all US lung cancers, or 1600 deaths a year.

The US authors analysed 1500 internal tobacco company documents, finding that tobacco companies conducted scientific studies on removing polonium-210 from cigarettes but were unable to do so.

"Documents show that the major transnational cigarette manufacturers managed the potential public relations problem of PO-210 in cigarettes by avoiding any public attention to the issue."

Philip Morris even decided not to publish internal research on polonium-210 which was more favourable to the tobacco industry than previous studies for fear of heightening public awareness of PO-210.

www.theage.com.au...

The more you smoke, the more radiation you have in your body..and it builds. The amount is significantly more than the levels in Japan..scary stuff indeed.

Think carefully my friends...what are you smoking?

This is so weird I literally just read this chart on Truthseeker.

www.thetruthseeker.co.uk...

Cigarettes were nestled in there, 1.5 packs a day for a year just below the annual dosage allowed by US nuclear workers. I never knew they contained radioactive elements. Jesus.

I should have told my uncle this. He died at age 96 after smoking 2 packs of either Camel, Chesterfield, or Pall Mall every day since he was 14 yrs. old living on the family's tobacco farm....I guess what the paid media says is true after all...Radiation will not hurt you......Be Happy, Don't Worry....

reply to post by BlackPoison94


Very interesting indeed. I am so glad that I quit smoking last year even though it was a very difficult thing for me to do. With this research though maybe people will wake up and finally put an end to their smoking habits. However addictions ca be hard to kick as I have known before and regardless feel like nothing will change but at least the info is here for those who wish to seek it. $&F

Edit: I happen to find this vid to support the evidence

Great thread BP.

I have known about the radiation in tobacco smoke for a while, but I never really looked into how much was contained in it and how it compared to other sources, mainly because I'm quite a heavy smoker and ignorance is indeed bliss.

I would be willing to bet that at least some of the people freaking out about the radiation levels coming from Japan are heavy smokers and that they don't ever consider the amount of radiation they are inhaling on an hourly basis, through their own choice.

Edit to add
To Caji316
Yes of course there are always exceptions, some people can also drink heavily every day and live to a ripe old age, but I'm afraid you don't just get to ignore tons of independent scientific data just because of an anecdotal story about your grandpa, the stuff BP posted is mainly taken directly from scientific journals not the "paid media" whatever that is. Where is the profit in saying that smoking is bad for you? You think scientists are making a fortune out of their investment in "No Smoking" sign manufacturers?

Totally sweet.

*Lights another radiation stick*

I'm closer than I originally thought on my quest to become a super villain.
Bonus.

I'm not smoking cigarettes, I stick with a much safer alternative that doesn't cause lung cancer. It's no shocker that cigarettes are bad for the body, but I had no idea that they had that much radiation in them. What does shock me is that millions of people are completely aware that they are smoking cigarettes that are literally doused in harmful chemicals, and they don't have a problem with that. I mean if you're going to smoke tobacco, then why not just buy cigarettes that don't have all of those chemicals in them? Those brands are out there, or better yet buy your own tobacco and roll your own chemical free cigarettes.

Originally posted by Caji316
I should have told my uncle this. He died at age 96 after smoking 2 packs of either Camel, Chesterfield, or Pall Mall every day since he was 14 yrs. old living on the family's tobacco farm....I guess what the paid media says is true after all...Radiation will not hurt you......Be Happy, Don't Worry....

Yeah, some people aren't affected as much it seems. Really, it is all about the risks you are willing to take for the pleasure (I smoked for about 12 years before quitting myself). I gotta say, if I got cancer even after quitting, I would probably start up again the same day.

There is a conspiracy that the radiation in cigarette smoke is actually beneficial to the human body and prevents many diseases that non smokers get normally .

Government health organizations say smoking is bad because the big business owners and think-tanks figured out that smokers need far less health care than non smokers.

Well they told you it would give you cancer, right? We're all aware of that. According to Ann Coulter radiation is good for you! Lol

Originally posted by wiredamerican

There is a conspiracy that the radiation in cigarette smoke is actually beneficial to the human body and prevents many diseases that non smokers get normally .

Government health organizations say smoking is bad because the big business owners and think-tanks figured out that smokers need far less health care than non smokers.

That's awesome, haha. One conspiracy I wouldn't mind being true

reply to post by BlackPoison94


I recently had a discussion with a few tobaccy farmers..

I was super suprised, the land the tobacco is grown on is federally mandated, federally fertilized, and considered non-safe/usable for more than 50 years....

I ask why..they said it was because all tobacco is a federal tax stamp to legally grow and the fertilzer, has radioactive qualities...yes even Free Spirit brand..

I know very little about this, and am friends with the only MO. "legal" tobacco grower left, he claims it has to do with the tobacco beatle and its extremely high tollerance to pesticides...hence the radioactive fertilizer..
But, that as much as he would say, besides...once you get a tobacco stamp and actually grom it...your land is not good or allowed to be anything else...no other crops allowed...
Im sure more educated peeps will be along, I just found it odd, that I have just n=been speaking to him bout this.
great work BP

reply to post by Stop-loss!


I smoke, and I smoke American Spirits, although not the organic variety.

My packaged, not loose tobacco American Spirit Menthol do glow like the Marlboro's in the video.

I don't think it's entirely accurate to say that because they are glowing under a blacklight that they are radioactive. While it could infact be true, semen, and many other things that are not radioactive glow under a blacklight. Any number of chemicals in a cigarette could possibly cause the glow.

But what I'm wondering about is what is actually causing the glow. My tobacco itself doesn't glow, but the paper does. I wish the video would have shown some loose Marlboro tobacco and noted whether it was glowing or not.

American Spirits, organic or not are a natural chemical free cigarette. I take that to mean they don't include any chemicals in the processed tobacco, rather or not they use chemicals on the tobacco in fertilizer or pesticides I couldn't say.

I think the glow is probably caused by the "FSC" notation and the chemicals added to achieve that. From what I understand the chemical is added to the paper and not the tobacco, that could be why their "roll your own" cigarette doesn't have the glow. I'm not sure if the chemical or "FSC" notation is required on rolling papers.

reply to post by ThaLoccster


Hmmmm good point. Will do more research on this but how can they do this and get away with it? You would think someone would put an end to this or at least take some action yet they are still being sold like this. Greed seems to rule their every waking moment at the cost of peoples health.

reply to post by Stop-loss!


I think most people are unaware.

I've smoked for 15 years and the information in this thread is new to me. I was shocked to see smoking 1.5 packs a day on that chart.

I think even if people were made aware, 100 scientiests or studies showing why the radioactive fertilizer was better for you than not using it would convince everyone that things were ok.

I'm struggling to quit smoking, and this is some added fuel to the fire. Hopefully it sinks in and has an affect. The outside stressors and reasons that keep me smoking always seem to overpower the fact that eventually it's going to kill me.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
or better yet buy your own tobacco and roll your own chemical free cigarettes.

Roll ups can be even more harmful, sorry.
news.bbc.co.uk...
www.gasp.org.uk...

And polonium-210 apparently occurs "naturally" in tobacco and it's not all necessarily linked to radioactive fertilizers.

From this link...www.sciencenews.org...

The source of tobacco’s polonium is all natural. It’s a decay product of radon that escapes from the ground, especially in regions with a lot of bedrock close to the surface or soil containing uranium-238. (On average, the authors say, the top five feet in each square mile of soil contains some 30 tons of uranium-238.)

Also from the article...

I was familiar with the issue generally, having written about it 27 years ago. What I wasn’t aware of until reading this new piece by health physicists Dade Moeller and Casper Sun was that “a filter for removing it [polonium-210] from cigarette smoke has been available for more than 40 years.”

Packet smokes have much more chemicals in them than hand rolling tobacco.

They have arsenic and all sorts in them, apparently its to make them burn continuously. As hand rolling tobacco always goes out.

Below I will list just a few of the addictives that are inhaled with each puff of a cigarette.
DDT - An insecticide that was eventually banned
Acetone - This is usually found in nail polish remover
Butane - You can find this in your lighter fluid
Cyanide - By now we should all know that cyanide is a very deadly poison
Ammonia - Used to clean your home and the smell is awful and overpowering to the senses
Benzene - This product can be found in synthetic rubber and also used to make dye products
Arsenic - Another deadly poison that is often used to kill rats
Formaldehyde - An embalming fluid and teens often use it to get high
Naphthalene - Mothball ingredient
Nicotine - Nicotine was a poison that was once and may still be used to kill roaches
A few other key ingredients include Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides,

link

And now trying to find any evidence that hand rolling tobacco was equally bad for you, google could not lead me to any good sites. They only say that because people tend to smoke hand rolling tobacco without a filter then they increase the intake of tar.

Now on a personal level, my grandad also smoked roll-ups (without a filter) from the age of 13 and died when he was 89 of non smoking related illness. I also smoke roll-ups (with a filter) and so far im fine

Originally posted by starchild10

Originally posted by TupacShakur
or better yet buy your own tobacco and roll your own chemical free cigarettes.

Roll ups can be even more harmful, sorry.
news.bbc.co.uk...
www.gasp.org.uk...

edit on 2-4-2011 by starchild10 because: (no reason given)

This is due to not using a filter with your hand rolled smoke.

And for that site to say that RYO smokers are 90% old men...lol, everyone i know who smokes, all smoke rolling tobacco, and they are men/women ages from 16-60 so thats rubbish

When they came out with the FSC cigs I started ordering from Europe.

They come from the Ukraine...and they are not FSC.

I'm not glowing in the dark yet...