Chemicals in Cigarettes

A smoker usually doesn’t think about those chemicals when smoking a cigarette. He thinks about how a cigarette helps cope with stress, how it calms him down when upset, and relaxes him after a long day.

The fact however is that smoking does the opposite of what we give it credit for. When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens through our bloodstream with every puff we take.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the harmful chemicals and how they affect our health.

Carcinogens:

Benzene (gas additive and pesticide) A colorless hydrocarbon obtained from coal and petroleum. It is used as a solvent in chemical manufacture. It is associated with leukemia.

Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)A colorless liquid, highly poisonous, used to preserve dead bodies. Known to cause cancer, also respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems.


Toxic Metals

Arsenic(rat poison)Arsenic gets into cigarettes via some of the pesticides used in tobacco farming.

Cadmium (batteries)Smokers have twice the amount of cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.


Poisons

There are about 200 poisonous gases in cigarette smoke including:

Ammonia (cleaning products and fertilizers)Ammonia is put into cigarettes by the manufacturer to boost the effect of the nicotine.

Carbon Monoxide (car exhaust)CO affects the heart and circulatory system.

Hydrogen Cyanide (gas chamber poison)Also found in cigarette smoke.

Nicotine (insecticide)Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man.


Some of the other chemicals would include:

• Tar (a material to make roads)
• Acetone(nail polish remover)
• DDT (insecticide)
• Sulfuric acid (car batteries)
• Freon (damages the earth’s ozone layer)
• Geranic acid (a fragrance)
• Maltitol (a sweetener not permitted to be used in foods in the U.S.)

Cigarettes are one of the few products, which can be legally sold in the U.S., and which can harm or kill you over time.

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