A May 1 editorial in the Toledo Blade proposed that the radiation content of cigarettes be listed on product packages.

The editorial noted that in the late 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Dade W. Moeller, an expert on radiation and a professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, had urged cigarette manufacturers to develop a process that would remove radioactive material from cigarettes. In addition, Moeller and his colleagues recommended that cigarette makers add warning labels to cigarette packages.

But cigarette makers responded by saying that people did not know that cigarettes contain radioactive materials. Tobacco plants contain high concentrations of a natural radioactive material called polonium-210. This substance remains on the tobacco during the manufacture of cigarettes.

"Given the public's morbid fear of radiation, knowledge about cigarette radiation could boost the effectiveness of anti-smoking programs," said the editorial. "Smokers and nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke should know about the radiation hazard from cigarettes. Cigarette companies should heed Dr. Moeller's advice, and develop ways of removing radioactive materials from tobacco."