Zozial of Mizoram: Identity, Chemistry, Exposure and Health Implications of an Indigenous Tobacco Product

Lalrammawia Khawlhring

Science Vision 26 (2), 52-63 | Published on 27 October 2026 | https://doi.org/10.33493/scivis.26.02.02

Abstract

Zozial is an indigenous hand-rolled, non-filter tobacco product of Mizoram, northeast India, prepared from locally cultivated Nicotiana tabacum L. (Solanaceae). Despite its long-standing local use, evidence concerning Zozial is distributed across ethnographic/product descriptions, tobacco-plant chemistry, tobacco-specific nitrosamine analysis and epidemiological studies, while several critical exposure steps remain uncharacterized. In this review, the available studies are examined according to the type of evidence they provide: direct studies on Zozial, older studies describing a comparable local product, studies on other combustible tobacco products, and general tobacco toxicology. Published analysis of Mizoram-grown tobacco demonstrates a broad elemental profile and selective accumulation of cadmium, whereas recent isotope-dilution LC-MS/MS analysis directly quantified nitrate, nitrite, tobacco-specific alkaloids and tobacco-specific nitrosamines in Zozial. Case-control studies in Mizoram have reported associations of Zozial, or historically described local cigarette closely matching the product, with lung and stomach cancer. However, filler composition is not equivalent to smoke yield or absorbed dose. Standardized mainstream and sidestream emissions, constituent transfer, Zozial-specific smoking topography, internal exposure and product-specific biomarkers of biological effect remain incompletely characterized in the published literature. Therefore, the comparatively low concentrations of selected tobacco-specific nitrosamines reported in one study, or the presence of potentially toxic elements in the tobacco, are not sufficient to decide whether Zozial is safer or more harmful than manufactured cigarettes. The available evidence is therefore considered along the sequence from cultivation and processing to product composition, combustion, exposure, biological response and disease, with emphasis on the measurements still needed for a reliable exposure and risk assessment.

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