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Johnathon Whited Eng. 1201.509 Professor Anne Gaydosh-Bruce

Cigarette Chemicals and Effects

Everyone knows smoking is bad for their health. If you want to live a long healthy life, do not smoke. The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for more than 440,000 deaths, or nearly one of every five deaths, each year in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). People might not smoke cigarettes if they were aware of the chemical additives, why these chemicals are added, the additional chemicals produced by the smoke, and the effects smoking has on their body. These chemicals have a variety of negative effects leading smokers to develop cancers and other diseases that they eventually die from. Worse yet, cigarette packs arent labeled as food packages are, with ingredients and other health facts. So, if youre thinking that what you dont know wont hurt you, think again. I have done some research to figure out what chemicals are added to cigarettes and why. I also discovered that the smoke itself is where most of the chemicals come from. Most people know there are some chemicals in cigarettes, but are unaware of what chemicals and how many. After researching this topic I found that there are documented 599 chemicals added to cigarettes. The tobacco industry used few additives in US cigarettes before 1970. However, current US-style cigarettes generally contain about a 10% level of additives according

to weight, mostly in the form of sugars, humectants, ammonia compounds, cocoa, and licorice. (Rabinoff, Caskey, Rissling, Park. Chemical Effects of Cigarette Additives). Some researchers believe that the use of sweeteners, cocoas and licorice are used to attract young people. It has been documented that many tobacco companies use chemicals to improve taste. Also specific additives are applied to mask the harshness of lower-quality tobacco.( A Report of
the Surgeon General 2010. pg.44) Another use for these additives is to decrease environmental

tobacco smoke (ETS) which consist of odor, visibility, and irritation. The reason they add this is to make it appear to be less of a danger. Theo-bromine from cocoa and chocolate glycyrrhizin and caffeine lead to Broncho dilation, which enhances penetration of cigarette smoke into the lungs. Another additive, isovaleric acid, acts as a pheromone, influencing sexual behavior.

U.S. National Library of Medicine, Chemical Effects of Cigarette Additives

Every part of the cigarette has chemicals on it. Titanium dioxide is toxic if inhaled, however it is used in the filter and in monogram inks. There are also various metals added to the filter paper such as aluminum, copper, and zinc "Non-Tobacco Ingredients - Philip Morris USA." Manufactures are providing this information as mandated by the 2009 legislation called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Stanton A. Glantz. "The Toxic Effects Of Cigarette Additives.
Philip Morris' Project pg.2). When I asked my wife what she thought about the chemicals in

cigarettes she stated it was "sneaky and inhumane of the cigarette companies to add harmful chemicals for their own various reasons". Although nicotine is a natural component in tobacco, there is controversy that the manufacturers are putting more nicotine in cigarettes to increase the effects of addiction. I asked my wife how she felt about this and she feels that adding nicotine into cigarettes to increase their addictiveness is just greedy and wrong. Manufacturers deny doing this. There are also chemicals developed by the act of smoking. According to the American Cancer Society The smoke is made up of more than 7,000 chemicals, including over 60 known to cause cancer (carcinogens). Some of these substances cause heart and lung diseases . Here is a chart showing some of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke and other places these chemicals are found in:

Chemical

These chemicals are also in:

Carbon Monoxide

Car Exhaust Fumes

Toluene

Industrial Solvent

Ammonia

Floor Cleaner

Acetone

Paint Stripper

Arsenic

Termite Poison

Cadmium

Car Batteries

Butane

Lighter Fluid

Methanol

Rocket Fuel

Hydrogen Cyanide

Gas Chamber

DDT

Insecticide

Naphthalene

Moth Balls

http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=119 Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia People just shouldnt smoke, these chemicals are very dangerous and harmful to the human body. Even though these chemicals are produced by the smoke itself, I dont know anyone who would want to put these chemicals in their body. If people were more educated on the chemicals and effects, they may try harder to quit smoking or never start. Cigarette smoking can cause damage to every organ in the body. Smoking causes cancers and diseases that lead to death. The CDC cites a statistic that 1 in 5 deaths in the US die from the effects of cigarette smoking. Cigarettes out kill HIV, murders, suicide, drug abuse, alcohol use and car accidents combined (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). When I asked my wife why she continues to smoke she said, she feels that it helps her relax. My wife believing that smoking relaxes her is actually wrong. She may feel relaxed because the craving is satisfied but her body is actually not relaxed. Cigarettes increase your heart rate which leads to high blood

pressure and heart disease. Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, aneurysms, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke. It also makes pneumonia and asthma worse ("What in Tobacco Smoke
Is Harmful?" American Cancer Society).

Smoking causes numerous forms of cancer such as acute myeloid leukemia, bladder cancer, cancer of the cervix, cancer of the esophagus, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx, lung cancer, mouth cancer, pancreatic cancer, throat cancer, and stomach cancer ("Smoking - Effects on Your Body." Better Health Channel). Smoking also effects the respiratory system, circulatory system, immune system, and musculoskeletal system "Smoking - Effects on Your Body." Better Health Channel. Dr. Graham Cope, A Freelance Medical Writer and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham documented that Current smokers have double the risk of developing Crohns disease compared with those who never smoked. Smoking also causes (COPD) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which is the number 3 leading killer in the United States ("What in Tobacco Smoke Is Harmful?" American Cancer Society). Smoking is more dangerous than people think. With all these added chemicals, toxic chemicals produced by the smoke, and numerous negative health effects should make it easy for people to not smoke. If nobody smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). People shouldn't think to grab a cigarette every time they need to relax. Instead do something relaxing like take a long bath or a stroll around the park. People need to change the way they think about smoking because health is everything, and most of the time being healthy determines how long you live.

Works Cited
American Cancer Society. "What in Tobacco Smoke Is Harmful?" What in Tobacco Smoke Is Harmful? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. Cope, Graham. "Understanding Smoking And Nicotine Effects On The Gastrointestinal Tract." Gastrointestinal Nursing 11.1 (2013): 44-48. CINAHL Complete. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-attributable Disease : A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, 2010. Print. NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Chemical Effects of Cigarette Additives n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. "Non-Tobacco Ingredients - Philip Morris USA." Non-Tobacco Ingredients - Philip Morris USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. "Risk And Safety Hazards." Chemical Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. "Smoking - Effects on Your Body." Better Health Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013 Stanton A. Glantz, et al. "The Toxic Effects Of Cigarette Additives. Philip Morris' Project Mix Reconsidered: An Analysis Of Documents Released Through Litigation.(Report)." Plos Medicine 12 (2011): Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. "Titanium Dioxide CAS#: 13463-67-7." Chemical book. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. "Tobacco and Its Effects." Tobacco and Its Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Whited, Andrea. "Effects of Smoking." Personal interview. 28 Oct. 2013.