What is it In Tobacco that is So Bad?
Smoking a cigarette, a cigar or pipe releases over 4000 chemicals. Contained in the smoke that is released is tar. Tar is what remains of the smoke particles once the nicotine and water have been removed and it contains many carcinogens that are known to cause cancer. This tar and other toxic compounds like carbon monoxide damage your health by causing cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Some of the chemicals contained in cigarettes include: acetic acid, acetone, ammonia, arsenic, butane, cadmium, DDT/deildrin, ethanol, formaldehyde, hexamine, hydrogen cyanide, methane, methanol, naphthalene, nicotine, nitrobenzene, nitrous oxide phenois, stearic acid, toluene and vinyl chloride. You may have heard of some of these chemicals before because they have other uses and this tends to make them sound even less appetizing than if you are just hearing of them for the first time. Cigarettes also contain the following metals: aluminium, copper, gold, lead, magnesium, mercury, silicon, silver, titanium and zinc. The list of known cancer-causing agents in cigarettes includes: benzo(a)pyrene, B-napthylamine, cadmium, crysenes, dibenz acidine, nickel, P.A.H.S., polonium 210, toudine, urethane, nitrosamines and N. nitrosomes. Each time a smoker inhales they are taking the chemicals mentioned above into their lungs, along with harmful gasses like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.
If you are wondering how smoking a cigar compares to a cigarette, consider that one cigar contains as much tobacco as an entire packet of cigarettes! Cigar smoke contains the same hazardous concoction of chemicals as cigarette smoke and a one cigar-a-day habit exposes the smoker to the equivalent damage done by a pack-a-day of cigarettes. Even those cigar and pipe smokers who do not inhale absorb the nicotine through the lining of the mouth. This does mean that the blood concentrations of nicotine peak more slowly than occurs when you inhale the smoke.