What’s in Cigarette Smoke?

If you want to know what’s in a Twinkie, all you have to do is look on the side of the package, and the ingredients are listed for you right there.  Not so with tobacco products.  Cigarette smoke contains hundreds of poisons and cancer-causing agents, but there’s no law that requires the printing of that information in packages to let people know exactly what it is that they’re smoking.  If they did, people might think twice about lighting up.

Here are just a few of the ingredients that you can find in cigarette smoke: 

·        Acetone– Used in solvents like nail polish remover

·        Ammonia– Adds flavor and enhances the effect of nicotine.  “The process of increasing the impact of nicotine by adding ammonia is called ’free-basing,’ which is similar to the chemical process used to heighten the effects of cocaine.” (Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and technology)

·        Benzene– Used as a solvent in fuel and in industry.  It’s known to cause cancer in humans and is particularly associated with leukemia.

·        Cadmium– A highly poisonous metal that is also used to make batteries.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, repeated exposure to cadmium, even at relatively low concentrations, may result in kidney damage and an increased risk of cancer of the lungs and of the prostate.

·        Carbon Monoxide– An odorless gas that’s lethal in large doses.

·        Formaldehyde– Used to preserve dead bodies, it’s a carcinogen that causes respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.

·        Hydrogen Cyanide- “It is among the most toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke.  Short-term exposure can lead to headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.” (Health Canada)

·        Lead- “Lead is highly toxic metal capable of causing serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells.” (US EPA)

·        Mercury– Yep, the stuff in thermometers.

·        Tar– It’s the stuff that actually transports many of the other chemicals contained in cigarette smoke directly into the body.  Tar is dark, viscous substance that paralyses the cilia ( small hairs which protect and clean the lungs) and can also stain teeth and fingernails.

·        Nicotine- The chemical that makes cigarettes as addictive as they are– as additive as cocaine and heroin.  When you take a drag on a cigarette, the nicotine is absorbed into the blood and eight seconds later it reaches your brain and you get a “hit”.  This nicotine hit causes other things to happen to your body including increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and constriction of blood vessels.