EFFECTS OF STORAGE-CONDITIONS ON LEVELS OF TOBACCO-SPECIFIC N-NITROSAMINES AND N-NITROSAMINO ACIDS IN UNITED-STATES MOIST SNUFF

Oral snuff is the only commercial tobacco product with increasing sales on the U.S. market. The carcinogenic activity of snuff and other smokeless tobacco products is largely attributed to the presence of N-nitrosamines, and especially to tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA). In this study of the effects of aging and storage on the levels of TSNA, N-nitrosamino acids (NAA), and volatile N-nitrosamines (VNA) in commercial moist snuff, it was found that during storage at 4-degrees-C none of these compounds increased significantly. However, at ambient room temperature, or at 37-degrees-C, the levels of N-nitrosamines and nitrite of the snuff increased significantly after 4 weeks of storage; whereby levels of carcinogenic TSNA rose from 6.24 to 18.7 ppm, NAA from 3.13 to 16.3 ppm, and VNA from 0.02 to 0.2 ppm. The importance of this finding with respect to cancer risk through the use of oral tobacco products is discussed. This study also led to the identification and quantitative determination of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-l-butanol in moist snuff.