Snus is an oral moist smokeless tobacco product with high nicotine content, provided in small pouches or loose form to be placed under the lip. It is the most common way to consume tobacco in Sweden, due to the perception of being less harmful. However, snus contains carcinogenic ingredients such as tobacco-specific nitrosamines and high radiotoxicity radionuclides. The current study had investigated the radioactivity levels of 210 Po, 232 Th, 234 U and 238 U in 16 Swedish snus products as well as the capacity of saliva to extract them from snus. The higher activity concentration was measured for 210 Po, ranging between 2 and 6 mBq/g with an average activity concentration of 4 ± 1 mBq/g. In the case of 232 Th and uranium radionculides the activity concentration ranged between 0.1 and 0.7 mBq/g with an average value of 0.2 ± 0.1 mBq/g for uranium radionuclides and 0.3 ± 0.1 mBq/g for 232 Th. For the first time, bioaccessibility of other alpha emitters different to 210 Po from snus consumption has been determined. However, the results of the study highlighted that 210 Po is the alpha emitter with higher contribution to dose exposure for snus consumers, being neglectable the contribution from 232 Th and uranium radionuclides. • For the first time, bioaccessibility of 232 Th, 234 U and 238 U from snus was studied. • 210 Po was always extracted by saliva from snus products. • Low radiation exposure from the radionuclides transferred into saliva from snus.
Sanderson et al. (Fri,) studied this question.