- Jacques Simon: M��decine nucl��aire, CHU Toulouse-Purpan, Place Baylac, TSA 40031-31059 Toulouse.
Artificial irradiation due to tobacco smoking is a widely accepted phenomenon, but the possible health implications are controversial. The IAEA has estimated that smoking twenty cigarettes a day induces a total "radiation exposure" of 53 mSv, but several other authors have estimated that the effective dose is only about 0.4 mSv/year. The irradiation associated with smoking results from the use of fertilizers containing a emitters and from tobacco leaf fixation of radon 222 gas of telluric origin. Critical analysis of the literature suggests that irradiation due to smoking is much closer to 0.4 mSv/year than to 53 mSv/year. In order to avoid further confusion and controversy, human exposure to such radiation should be expressed as the annual effective dose.