The website SmokeHelp.org notes that pipe and cigar tobacco contain many of the same harmful chemicals found in the tobacco in cigarettes. Depending on the brand and quality of your tobacco, it may also contain chemicals that add flavor, preserve freshness or influence the rate at which it burns.
Propylene Glycol
The website for National Drug Policy New Zealand lists propylene glycol as an ingredient in several brands of pipe tobacco. Propylene glycol is an alcohol used to help pipe tobacco retain moisture, so that it appears to remain fresh longer than tobacco without this additive. This substance has been linked to serious health concerns in large enough doses, and it mixes with the other gases present in pipe smoke where it makes contact with the interior of your mouth. If you inhale your pipe smoke, or if you are breathing near a pipe smoker, you will also expose your lungs to this chemical. Other alcohols and acids are also present in various brands and flavors of pipe tobacco.
Harmful Gases in Tobacco Smoke
Other harmful substances in tobacco smoke include nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and cyanide. The extent to which any cyanide may exist in pipe tobacco depends entirely on the specific manufacturer, but carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are byproducts of burning tobacco, and will be present in all tobacco smoke, whether it is from a cigarette, cigar or pipe.
Benzene, Benzo(a)Pyrene and Lead
The American Public Health Association lists several other chemicals that are present in the smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipes. Benzene and Benzo(a)Pyrene have been found present at similar levels in smoke from all three types of tobacco.
References
- American Public Health Association: Benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, and lead in smoke from tobacco products other than cigarettes.
- Smoke Help: Is There a Safe Tobacco?
- American Council for Drug Education: Basic Facts About Drugs - Tobacco
- National Drug Policy New Zealand: Additives List Pipe Tobacco Legal Firm Certificate
- Natural Health Information Centre: Propylene Glycol
