This page respects the original work's rights terms and independently introduces its bibliography, abstract, main results, and limitations. It is not a full translation.
About this resource
This is not a full-text translation of the original article. It is an independently organized detailed introduction based on the public author manuscript and bibliographic information, covering the products studied, measurements, principal numbers, and interpretive limits. The subject was rapé circulated as diverse smokeless-tobacco and botanical-powder products from South America, not a human treatment trial involving rapé.
A strength of the study was that it did not treat everything called “rapé” as a single product. It separately measured the presence of tobacco, pH, ash, total nicotine, un-ionized or free nicotine, tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and flavor-related constituents. It did not assess culturally described purposes or experiences, nor infer clinical benefit from chemical composition.
Study design
Samples collected by Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) were analyzed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They comprised 2 commercial products made from non-tobacco plant material, 10 commercial products containing tobacco, and 2 handmade products purchased on the market as Indigenous in origin, for a total of 14. Some products could not be measured for every analyte because sample quantity was insufficient, so the valid sample count was not necessarily 14 for each measurement.
The researchers measured moisture and pH; quantified total nicotine by GC-MS, minor tobacco alkaloids by GC-MS/MS, 5 TSNAs by LC-MS/MS, and 14 PAHs and 10 flavor-related compounds by GC-MS. FTIR spectra aided identification of tobacco species, non-tobacco plant material, and alkaline ash containing calcium carbonate. Un-ionized nicotine was calculated from measured total nicotine and pH.
Content
The analyzed rapé products divided into plant-material-only products, industrial products containing tobacco, and handmade products containing tobacco, non-tobacco plant material, and alkaline ash. Rapé therefore cannot always be assumed to contain a fixed mixture of tobacco and ash. Color, labeled ingredients, and plant-derived markers also varied considerably, and in some cases labels did not fully establish composition.
Total nicotine means all nicotine present in a product; un-ionized nicotine is the pH-dependent uncharged fraction. Alkaline ash is not itself nicotine, but by increasing pH it can change the proportion of un-ionized nicotine. This distinction is important because products with similar total nicotine may differ markedly in calculated un-ionized nicotine as a result of differences in ash and pH.
Results
Many commercial tobacco-containing products were mildly acidic, with total nicotine ranging from 6.3 to 47.6 mg/g wet weight. The 2 handmade products had pH values of 9.75 and 10.2 and were more strongly alkaline than commercial tobacco-containing products. Their total nicotine was 15.5–18.9 mg/g, while calculated un-ionized nicotine was 15.4–18.5 mg/g, markedly higher than 0.03–0.53 mg/g in commercial products. This product-analysis finding demonstrates the need to consider ash, pH, and total nicotine separately; the values did not directly measure absorption into the human body.
TSNA and PAH concentrations also varied widely among products. Some detected constituents included compounds classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as known or possible carcinogens. Coumarin was detected in 11/13 products across a wide range. Some products contained non-tobacco-derived constituents such as camphor and eugenol at mg quantities, leading the authors to call for further evaluation.
Limitations
The 14 products were collected at a particular time and do not represent all rapé now in circulation, every preparation of a particular Indigenous people, or the batch an individual user actually encounters. Even for handmade products purchased on the market, the collection site of raw materials, production history, storage, and accuracy of labeling could not be completely traced. Chemical analysis shows concentration in a sample, but did not measure absorption through nasal mucosa, blood concentrations, repeated use, co-used substances, or individual variation.
Although ash, high pH, total nicotine, and free nicotine may be related, the study did not comprehensively compare the botanical species or inorganic composition of every ash. Detection of TSNAs or PAHs also does not directly calculate disease incidence from an individual product. With no treatment group, control group, or clinical outcome, the design cannot judge efficacy for disease, a safe amount, or the value of cultural practice.
Safety
The direct conclusion is limited to substantial product-to-product variation in nicotine, pH, un-ionized nicotine, compounds of carcinogenic concern, and flavor-related constituents. Labels such as “natural,” “handmade,” or “traditional” do not guarantee low nicotine, low exposure, or uniform composition. Strong alkalinity and high calculated un-ionized nicotine in particular identify exposure concerns that total nicotine alone does not reveal.
This was neither a clinical efficacy trial nor a long-term safety study in humans. This resource provides no procedure for product selection, preparation, administration, or self-treatment. Cultural accounts and chemical hazard identification should both be respected without using either as proof of the other.
Source and rights
Original source: Stanfill SB, et al. Comprehensive chemical characterization of Rapé tobacco products: Nicotine, un-ionized nicotine, tobacco-specific N′-nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and flavor constituents. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2015;82:50–58. DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2015.04.016. PMID 25934468; PMCID PMC5704902.
The article is an Elsevier copyrighted work, with a public-access author manuscript in PMC. This page is not a verbatim translation; it is an independently written detailed introduction to the public bibliography, methods, and results. It does not reproduce the original tables, figures, prose, or product images.