As there are more than 12.000 chemicals contained in a cigarette, we are obviously not able to list them all up here. In this article we are going to give you an overview over the most dangerous chemicals that you inhale with the tobacco smoke. We will also show you, that not all chemicals are of natural origin, many are being added to the cigarette to strengthen the addiction.
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Chemicals contained in tobacco are being separated in four different categories. The categories are irritating substances, blood toxic substances, neuro-toxic substances and carcinogen substances. Irritating substances, such as ammoniac can cause a chronic bronchitis, the so called smokers cough, if cigarettes are being smoked for years. Examples for blood toxic substances would be for example carbon monoxide which is a highly toxic chemical that also comes with exhaust fumes. |
It is being accumulated in the body, and disturbs the ability to absorb oxygen. It is the main reason for smokers suffering from short breath, diseases in the respiratory system, as well as in the cardiovascular system. Long term results can be heart attacks, apoplexia and the smoker’s leg.
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The next group of chemicals is the so called neuro toxic substances, which obviously includes the nicotine. Nicotine is able to deform the brain in a way in which it produced more and more nicotine receptors and this way it creates the addiction. A dose of 19 milligramsof nicotine would be deadly for most people. But nicotine is not being taken in such amounts. Only small amounts are being inhaled, but spread over the day an average smoker inhales about 50 milligrams of nicotine – enough to kill a horse. It is basically an aromatic oil without colour, and it makes part of the alkaloid group of chemicals. It has a narcotic effect on the body and the brain. Most smokers describe the first cigarette after a couple of hours as a great enjoyment. This is due to the ability of nicotine to make the body produce dopamine, which is a so called "happy hormone" and triggers good feelings. Nicotine is the main reason for the smoking addiction. |
The last group of chemicals are the carcinogen substances. There is a large variety of carcinogen chemicals contained in cigarettes. We can begin with toxic heavy metals like for example cadmium. We can move over to toxins like benzol and the highly carcinogen benzopyrene and late studies have shown that there’s even rests of radioactive materials like polonium210 and radon contained in the tobacco smoke.
Inhaling the chemicalslisted above can eventually cause all known types of cancer. Smokers are not only affected by lung cancer!
Nicotine is highly addictive, but much of it is not being absorbed well during the smoking process. This for the industry has started to add different chemicals to cigarettes, just to strengthen the nicotine addiction. Almost every cigarette contains which makes the smoke smoother and easier to inhale. This way the smoke can be inhaled deeper, and more nicotine can be absorbed by the body. The amount of menthol doesn’t need to be high, it can be low enough so the smoker doesn’t even feel it. It also increases the breathing rate, which makes the absorption of nicotine even more effective. Alkaline substances increase the nicotine absorption in the lungs, which makes "light" cigarettes being able to release just as much nicotine in the body as normal cigarettes. It is the main reason for light cigarettes being considered just as dangerous as normal cigarettes.
Doctors that have conducted those studies said: By adding chemicals like ammoniac, carbamide, or soda, the pH-value of the cigarettes smoke can be made more alkaline which solubilises the nicotine from its salts and increases the bioavailability dramatically. Free nicotine is being absorbed faster than nicotine that is ligated to other particles. This causes the so called "nicotine-flash" to come faster and more intensively. There is a measurable coherence between the pH-value of a cigarette sort and its commercial success. The faster the nicotine-flash the higher the popularity rate.
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If you are planning to stop smoking, don’t forget to have a look into the eye opening Smoker Smack Report.
Click here to download the Smoker Smack Report
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