Assessment of Cr, Cd and Pb levels in tobacco leaves and selected cigarette samples from Ilorin Metropolis Kwara State, Nigeria

The levels of Cr, Cd and Pb in tobacco leaves and some cigarette samples from Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria were collected and analyzed after wet digestion with a freshly prepared 65% HNO3 and 35% HCl using atomic absorption spectrophotometry Model No PM 8251 single pen recorder. The results obtained reveal the presence of Cr and Cd in all samples including tobacco leaves. However, Pb was not found in all the samples within the limit of determination. The concentration ranges of Cr and Cd in the samples are 60-100 μg/g and 4-20 μg/g respectively, which was found to be lower than the WHO standard.Keywords: Cigarettes, Tobacco, Heavy metals, Digestio