Harmful Chemicals in Tobacco Products
Tobacco smoke
Cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco are made from dried tobacco leaves. Other substances are added for flavor and to make smoking more pleasant. The smoke from these products is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by burning tobacco and its additives.
Tobacco smoke is made up of thousands of chemicals, including at least 70 known to cause cancer. These cancer-causing chemicals are referred to as carcinogens. Some of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke include:·
- Nicotine (the addictive drug that produces the effect people are looking for and one of the harshest chemicals in tobacco smoke)
- Hydrogen cyanide
- Formaldehyde
- Lead
- Arsenic
- Ammonia
- Radioactive elements, such as uranium (see below)
- Benzene
- Carbon monoxide
- Nitrosamines
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Many of these substances cause cancer. Some can cause heart disease, lung disease, or other serious health problems, too. Most of the substances come from the burning tobacco leaves themselves, not from additives included in cigarettes (or other tobacco products).
Radioactive materials in tobacco smoke
Radioactive materials are in the tobacco leaves used to make cigarettes and cigars. These materials come from the fertilizer and soil used to grow the tobacco leaves, so the amount in tobacco depends on the soil the plants were grown in and the type of fertilizers used. These radioactive materials are given off in the smoke when tobacco is burned, which smokers take into their lungs as they inhale. This may be another key factor in smokers getting lung cancer.
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