Sahar Taghavi - PhD Student, Department of Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Zahra Khashyarmanesh - Instructor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Hamideh Moalemzadeh Haghighi - Instructor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Hooriyeh Nassirli - Instructor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, BuAli Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Pyman Eshraghi - Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Navid Jalali - Instructor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, BuAli Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Mohammad Hassanzadeh-Khayyat - Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Background: There are many different kinds of cigarettes and tobacco available in the market. Since nicotine content of various brands of cigarettes are very variable, therefore evaluation and comparison of nicotine content of different brands of cigarettes is important. The goal of the present study was to determine and compare nicotine content of various domestic and imported cigarettes available in the area. Methods: Fourteen popular imported brands and nine popular domestic brands of cigarettes and three available brands of tobaccos were investigated for the amounts of nicotine content. Nicotine was extracted from each cigarette and tobacco samples and was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Findings: The amount of nicotine in each cigarette was from ۶.۱۷ to ۱۲.۶۵ mg (۱.۲۳ ± ۰.۱۵ percent of tobacco weight in each cigarette) in domestic cigarettes. It was between ۷.۱۷-۲۸.۸۶ mg (۱.۸۰ ± ۰.۲۵ percent of tobacco weight in each cigarette) for imported cigarette, and between ۳۰.۰۸- ۵۰.۸۹ mg (۳.۸۲ ± ۱.۱۱ percent) for the pipe nicotine. There was significant difference in nicotine amount between imported and domestic brands of cigarettes. There was also no significant difference in nicotine content between light and normal cigarettes in imported brands. Conclusion: Nicotine content of all tested cigarettes, imported and domestic brands, were higher than the international standard.   Keywords: Nicotine, Tobacco, Cigarettes, Human health, Brand