“According to ISO, the smoke of a cigarette of this brand contains ~ 0.4 mg of nicotine and ~ 6 mg of condensate (tar),” reads the writing on every cigarette package. But that’s not all!
What other ingredients are unhealthy?
Smoking endangers health, everyone knows – but it is not only the nicotine in tobacco smoke, which is responsible for the harmful effects of smoking. Meanwhile between. 4000 to 5000 ingredients in the so-called blue haze identified, of which more than 40 are carcinogenic. Others are considered toxic or irritant, and for many the effect is not yet known.
Proven carcinogenic
- Benzene
- Nitrosamines
- Tar
- Arsenic compounds
- Zinc oxide
Probably carcinogenic
- Aniline
- Lead
- Cadmium compounds
Toxic
- Nicotine
- Hydrogen cyanide
- Carbon monoxide
Irritant
- Ammonia
- Formaldehyde
- Nitrogen oxides
The alkaloid nicotine
Nicotine is formed in the roots of the tobacco plant, and deposited in its leaves. It is among the most toxic plant substances. The lethal dose for humans is 50 mg, and an average of 3 mg is absorbed by inhaling the smoke of a cigarette. When smoking, nicotine enters the blood, as a result, the skin temperature decreases and the pulse is accelerated.
Frightening facts
Every year in Germany, between 90,000 and 140,000 people die from the consequences of smoking, of which about 400 are from the consequences of “passive smoking”. Diseases such as cancer, lung disease, heart attacks and strokes are associated with it. Due to the high combustion temperatures, the inhaled smoke contains fewer pollutants than the fumes produced when the cigarette is smoldering!
