This work reports the use of microwave energy for the extraction of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) from tobacco and their detection with a thermal energy analyser (TEA). Conventional sample preparation procedures for the TSNAs involve extraction with solvents followed by a solid phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) cleanup step. These procedures may present disadvantages such as long preparation time and use of large solvent quantities. With the use of Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE) the aim is to reduce solvent quantities and the time necessary to carry out the whole extraction procedure without compromising sensitivity and reproducibility. A known quantity (~1 gr) of tobacco was placed in the extraction vessel and 15 ml of dichloromethane were added. After applying a microwave heating program for a total time of 20 minutes, the samples were purified on an unmodified silica cartridge and eluted with a DCM/Acetone solution. Finally they were concentrated and transferred to GC vials. Quantitative determination was carried out by the internal standard technique. Recoveries and repeatability were evaluated for the target analytes at various concentration levels and limits of detection and quantification of the method were determined. The procedure was applied to the analysis of raw tobacco and to several commercial cigarette and cigar brands.