Polonium 210 is indeed found in American cigarettes...ironically in tobacco grown in many other countries it is not. It is because of the chemical fertilizers as Jerry has stated that we have used in this country since forever and a day. It is not native to the plant but to the soils we grow it in. This stuff is really scary, just do a Google search about it if you want to undersatnd how small an amount of this has to enter your lungs to put you on a path to cancer. This by the way has been known for some time.... and our government continues to subsidize the tobaco industry. It is a top ten crop in the US, and like most things it is all about the money that allows tobacco to continue to be the largest preventable cause of death in our country.