**2.1 Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS)**

*Ion Beam Techniques and Applications*

day by the smoking 20 cigarettes [10–13].

countries. Due to these reasons, tobacco is contaminated with different toxic metals and chemical compounds. Many studies reported that tobacco smoke is toxic, carcinogenic, and genotoxic. Cigarette smoke contains 4000 identified toxic chemical

Various metallic and nonmetallic elements and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, antimony, etc. are present in tobacco. Biological samples from the bodies of people who use cigarette have been identified with a higher concentration of these elements than nonsmokers [2–4]. Lead is carcinogenic to humans and probably a major reason for cancer in human belonging to group 1 or group 2 [5]. Tobacco is a key source of lead present in the body of the indirect smokers (children and adolescents) in the United State. Children who live with one or more smokers contain 14–24% higher level of lead in blood than those who live with nonsmokers [6]. Beside it, in addition to other toxic elements, 87 organic carcinogens are produced by tobacco smoke is being inhaled into the lungs [7]. Some of the toxic metals like cadmium, nickel, and lead frequently move along with inhaled smoke to the blood that is usually deposited in various organs like the liver and kidney [8]. Excessive intake of toxic elements or essential element deficiency disturbs the homeostatic control which causes chronic physiological disorders such as hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart diseases [9]. Lead potentially harms the nervous system, brain, and red blood cells in human. In an estimate, a person inhales 1–5 μg lead per

Including Pakistan, tobacco smoking is a general practice all over the world, especially in young or adult men and women. Due to the high health risk of tobacco smoking, it is necessary to monitor the elevated level of metals in cigarettes. Thereby, in the current study, we investigate 19 different brands of cigarettes (local and imported) to make fresh data and measure the heavy metals (e.g., lead, nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, and cadmium). The results are compared to the cigarette brands used in the current study and also with the results of other studies that

Recently, analysis using ion beam became an order of modern analytical techniques by the use of MeV ion beams to study the elemental compositions. During bombardment, interactions of the ion with matter results in elastic and inelastic scattering, nuclear reaction, and excitation of the electromagnetic waves. Below is a

addressed the elevated level of metals in cigarettes worldwide.

**2. Ion beam for material analysis techniques**

demonstration of the typical techniques (**Figure 1**).

compounds that are potentially harmful to human health [1].

**88**

**Figure 1.**

*Ion beam analysis techniques.*

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is one of most frequently used ion beam analysis. It is used to examine the elemental composition with depth profiling of samples by measuring the energy of an elastically backscattered ion beam, which depends on the mass of the targeted sample and on the penetrating distance, which the back scattering occurred (**Figure 2**).
