Nicotine is an addictive drug that produces the "high" people feel when they smoke tobacco cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States; even so, the CDC reports that 20.6 percent of the population smoked as of 2008. Most people know that cigarettes are bad for one's health, but these are a few facts you may not know.
Chemicals
Though tobacco is the primary ingredient of cigarettes, the American Lung Association (ALA) reports that there are about 600 ingredients in a cigarette. Once the cigarette is burned, those 600 ingredients turn into 4,000 chemicals.
Cancer-Causing Components
The ALA reports that some of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke are known poisons. According to the ALA, 50 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. Some of these chemicals are ammonia, a household cleaner; acetone, used to remove nail polish; butane, used as a lighter fluid; formaldehyde, used as embalming fluid; carbon monoxide, found in car exhaust fumes; and tar, used for paving roads.
Insecticide
According to the ALA, nicotine is a material used as an insecticide, meaning that it is used to kill insects.
Trends
Merck Manuals, an online medical library, reports that cigarette smoking peaked in 1964, when the largest percentage of the U.S. population smoked. In that year, the Surgeon General first announced the link between smoking and health problems.
Starting Young
According to Merck Manuals, a significant percentage of smokers start smoking before the age of 16 (31 percent), and more than half of smokers start before they are 18.
Wrinkles
The Mayo Clinic reports that smoking cigarettes causes narrowing of the blood vessels found on the skin's outer layers; this, in turn, impedes blood flow and speeds the natural aging process of the skin, causing wrinkles. The more cigarettes a person smokes, and the longer the time he has smoked, the more likely it is that the skin has been damaged.
Secondhand Smoke
Merck Manuals reports that secondhand smoke (breathing in smoke produced by a cigarette someone nearby is smoking) causes 50,000 to 60,000 deaths each year in the United States.
Effects on Organs
Merck Manuals reports that smoking tobacco causes heart disease, lung cancer and chronic lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking also causes vascular disease in addition to heart disease, such as stroke and aortic aneurysm. Smoking can also cause a multitude of cancers aside from lung cancer--among them, esophageal, kidney, cervical, pancreatic, stomach, throat and bladder cancers.
Medication
A variety of medications are on the market to help the process of smoking cessation. Merck Manuals reports that one approach is nicotine-replacement therapy to help wean the patient off nicotine. This approach includes nicotine administered in various forms, such as gum, lozenges, inhaler or a patch. Other medications prescribed to help with withdrawal symptoms include bupropion and Chantix.
Quitting
According to Merck Manuals, 20 million smokers try to quit each year; more than 90 percent of them relapse within days, weeks or months. People who receive cessation counseling and/or medication are more successful: 20 percent to 30 percent of them remain free of nicotine for the long-term.
