Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human milk from Italian women: Influence of cigarette smoking and residential area

Abstract The presence of PAH in breast milk collected from 32 smoking and non-smoking lactating women, residing in urban and rural areas of Tuscany (Italy) was investigated. The results indicated a significant contribution of tobacco smoke to the PAH contamination of milk: the condensate contained in the cigarettes smoked daily by each subject was strongly related with the polynuclear hydrocarbon content ( R 2  = 0.92, P a )pyrene in drinking water, evidencing that a hazard cannot be excluded for heavy smokers residing in urban areas.