Chemical Cocktail

There are over 4,000 chemicals found in cigarettes and other tobacco products, most of them toxins. Here is are descriptions of the big ones.

Nicotine is the main chemical found in tobacco, and yes, it’s addictive. It’s absorbed by inhalation into the lungs or through the skin and muscles lining the inside of the mouth and nose. Nicotine travels very quickly; it reaches the brain within 10 seconds of inhaling the smoke. It can be found in every part of a smoker’s body, even a woman’s breast milk.

Most people have Carbon Monoxide detectors in their home to protect them from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, but smokers are inhaling it voluntarily. This colorless, odorless, tasteless gas is highly toxic. It binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen. Exposure to high levels of Carbon Monoxide for an extended period of time can be lethal.

Carcinogens (cancer causing substances) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly. Benzo(a)pyrene is a common carcinogen found in tobacco smoke. This particular toxin binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers.