What Chemicals Are In Cigarettes?
What chemicals are in cigarettes? More accurately, we need to know what is in cigarettes to begin with and what chemicals are produced after burning tobacco i.e. in the smoke.
Additives In Cigarettes
There are 599 known chemicals in cigarettes. These are from a voluntary list provided by 5 tobacco companies.
On first glance, these substances appear to be quite harmless. They’re in two categories.
The first appear to contribute to flavour. I’m talking about honey, anise, apricot extract, bergamot oil, mandarin oil, parsley seed oil and other fruit or herb derived ingredients,
The second set appear to be a whole host of strange chemical compounds. Phenethyl Isobutyrate, 4-Ethylbenzaldehyde, Diethyl Sebacate, Butyl phenylacetate, Anisyl Phenylacetate etc. These sure don’t sound good, do they?
You can get a full list here: Wikipedia: List of additives in cigarettes
After Burning
This is when we can see the exact chemicals that you are exposed to. And guess what, most of them are harmful.
Benzene - a known carcinogen.
Formaldehyde - toxic.
Lead - a neurotoxin that accumulates in the body.
Arsenic - poisonous.
Cadmium - damages the kidneys, liver and the brain.
Now you know just a small fraction of the bad chemicals in cigarettes. Do you really need to know anymore to convince you to quit smoking?
Then take a look at my top 3 recommended solutions for quitting smoking: Top 3 Quit Smoking Programs.