Each time you inhale a puff of cigarette smoke, you draw toxic chemicals into your mouth, nasal passages, airways and lungs. Your bloodstream absorbs many of these chemicals and transports them to all parts of your body. There are more than 4,000 different compounds in cigarette smoke, many of them poisonous or able to cause genetic mutations. Researchers have identified 60 chemicals in cigarette smoke that can cause cancer. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, "Each day, as nearly 300 of their forebears die, 6,000 children try their first cigarette and 3,000 advance to daily smoking."
Nicotine
Nicotine is the substance in cigarettes that make them addictive. Nicotine is less harmful than other toxins in cigarette smoke, but is still considered a co-carcinogen, which is a substance that works with other toxins or chemicals to cause cancer. The Federal Drug Administration classifies nicotine as an addictive drug. Several brands of insecticides use nicotine as an active ingredient to kill insects and rodents.
Tar
Tar, a combination of more than 4,000 chemicals, is the viscous brown residue from burning tobacco. The ingredients are chiefly hydrocarbons, which can cause gene mutations. The hydrocarbons in cigarettes are powerful cancer-causing substances called carcinogens. According to the American Cancer Society, researchers have long established that tar is a direct cause of lung, mouth and throat cancer.
Other Chemicals
Additional toxins include cyanide; benzene, which is found in paint thinner; acetone, which is found in nail polish remover; formaldehyde, often used in forensic labs; methanol, which is wood alcohol; and acetylene, which is used in welding torches. Other toxins include ammonia, arsenic and vinyl chloride. Cigarettes also contain cadmium and nickel, which are used in the manufacture of batteries; creosote--an element of tar; and polonium 210, which causes cancer of the liver. These chemicals, among other things, stimulate excessive production of mucus as the body tries to clear the contaminant. This process clogs the airways and the alveoli or air sacs in the lungs. This obstruction makes the smoker cough and causes chronic bronchitis and other pulmonary disorders and diseases.
Contaminants
Tobacco used to make cigarettes also contains contaminants drawn from the soil where it is grown such as radioactive materials, pesticides and other toxins. This is especially true when tobacco is grown near highly industrial areas where the rainout can saturate a tobacco field, leaving environmental pollutants in the fields and soil.
References
- American Cancer Society: Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cigarette Smoking-Attributable Morbidity United States, 2000
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimate (2007)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Highlights: Smoking Among Adults in the United States: Respiratory Health
