Chemicals in Cigarettes
There are over 4000 different chemicals in cigarette smoke. Scientists have identified that at least 43 of these cause cancer.
The chemicals in cigarettes are not only dangerous for your health, but it also affects the people around the smoker.
The four most well-known and dangerous chemicals are:
Nicotine
Nicotine is the most well known chemical in cigarettes. It’s the chemical or drug that’s responsible for the addictive nature of cigarettes and tobacco.
Nicotine stimulates the central nervous system. It produces feelings of pleasure, anxiety relief and wakefulness, reduces appetite and improves short-term memory and task performance.
But that’s not all the effects of nicotine. Nicotine’s negative effects on the body far outweigh any positive effects. Nicotine makes your body more susceptible to a host of circulatory problems by:
- Increasing your heart rate
- Increasing your blood pressure
- Constricts your blood vessels, causing your heart and arteries to work harder
- Reduces blood flow to your hands and feet
- Increases the risk of blood clots that can cause strokes or pulmonary embolisms
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide, the same chemical that comes out of your car is also in cigarettes and tobacco.
Carbon monoxide has a similar chemical structure as oxygen, and when inhaled, it takes the place of oxygen in the red blood cells. That leaves less oxygen circulating your blood stream and consequently, less oxygen for your body’s organs such as your muscles, heart and brain.
Your heart has to pump harder to supply the rest of your body with enough oxygen so your organs can function.
Carbon monoxide is the reason why smokers feel short of breath and easily over-exerted when exercising.
Tar
Tar is the given name for toxic, cancer-causing chemicals in cigarettes. Tar forms a thick, black coating in your lungs, inhibiting efficient oxygen transfer and increasing your risk of developing lung cancer.
So what if you smoke low tar or light cigarettes? Would the risk of cancer be reduced?
Studies show that it doesn’t matter what type of cigarettes you smoke, the risk of developing lung cancer is the same. It’s believed that smokers take deeper puffs of low tar or light cigarettes to get enough nicotine (the addictive chemical) to satisfy their addiction.
The only way to reduce the risk of lung cancer is to quit smoking completely.
Phenols
Phenols are a large group organic chemicals used in a broad range of products such as disinfectants, detergents and fungicides and found in many natural compounds such as clove oil, neurotransmitters, hormones and much more. Not all phenolic compounds are bad for your health, but the phenols found in cigarettes certainly are.
The phenols in cigarettes and tobacco have been found to damage and destroy the delicate small hairs lining the airways of your lungs. Consider these small hairs as your body’s janitor for your lungs. They continually sweep debris and other unwanted substances out of your lungs.
When these small hairs are destroyed or damaged, the cleansing of your lungs is severely impaired, leaving your lungs vulnerable to irritants and other cancer causing chemicals.
May 30th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
When trying to quit smoking, I heard that there is a chemical in cigarettes that is actually the more addictive than actual nicotine. Is this correct and if so is it activated by certain chemicals or food products. Is there food or drinks you should avoid when trying to quit? I heard that certain foods activate cravings for this particular chemical, whatever that may be.
July 2nd, 2006 at 3:09 pm
HELLO I NAME IS STEVE FROM MALTA AND I HAVE 29 YEARS.
I START SMOKING WHEN I HAVE 9 YEARS
THIS IS MY FIRST MONTH WITHOUT SMOKING ITS HARD.
MY FHATHER WAS DIE WITH LUNGH CANCER PROBABLE WITH SIGARETS IN AGE OF 43.
THATS NOT NICE
I DONT WANT TO FOLLOW THE SAME MASTAKE OF MY FATHER
THANKS
BEST REGASRDS
STEVE BONNICI
October 24th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Well I thought there were more chemicals in cigarettes.
November 7th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Aren’t there any more chemicals found in cigarettes? If there are, please e-mail me some more of them
January 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
my name is destiny defries and i would like to tell everyone about my grandpa. my grandpa hasn’t smoked not even 1 time since 1999 and he started smoking when he was 18. i was 6 years old when he quite and i am so proud of him!and the way he quite was the most amazing part, he didn’t use special gum or pathes or pick up another habbit in the place of smoking .it was very difficult for him b/c he used to smoke one to 2 packs a day. but wat inspirred him to quite was my great grandma(his mom)who died of lung cancer in 1999 at age of 68. she developed lung cancer from smoking .but other ppl in my family smoke too. like my motherand my grandmother. they have tried to kick the habbit dozens of timez but failed.
May 16th, 2007 at 4:11 am
this was very helpful information for my assignment
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I would like to tell everyone how smoking has effected me.I have never smoked in my entire 14 yrs of life…but my grandfather smoked ciggarettes for most of his life.It wasnt until he found out he had cancer until he chose to quite.By that time it was too late..on Novemeber 15th 2001, my grandfather died from cancer.When he was living those last few dayz he had left he kept telling my aunts and unlces that were smokers at the time to please quite because he didnt want them to die at a such a young age from cancer and that smoking wasnt worth it anymore.Since then, my uncles have stopped except for one is still trying to stop,and my aunts have all stopped smoking.my grandpa was like my second dad,i used to visit him almost everyday when i was little,and for him not being able to see my dance recitals in the following yrs after he died just broke my heart.It took me 5 yrs to actually realize hes gone,but when groups like TATU( teens against tobacco use) come into class and discuss about drug prevention and then ask ppl if they wanna talk about how smoking has effected them,ive been able to talk about my grandpa..though ive gotten to some points where ive cried..i knw its tough for smokers to stop,but they need to try harder and just fight it..because in the end its all worth breaking that bad habbit!
July 3rd, 2007 at 12:40 am
My husbut and quit smoking ciggs in 1997, but he kept smoking Marijuana. Most people think that this is a harmless substitute, but I have heard that if you have cancer, Marijuana retards the process that keeps your body from growing tumors. So, in other words, smoking dope, encourages cancer.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Why don’t the the quit smoking organisations and goverments campain or order the tabaco industries to reduce or take out the cancerous chemicals from cigarettes, if the food industries did it they would be right on them, they shouldn’t worry about loosing customers and money as alot of people like to smoke anyway, i think the quit smoking companies are making alot of money because of us smokers so who is the good guy and the bad guy here.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
thankyou very very much for the infomation, it will help alot with my assignment
thanks again
December 5th, 2007 at 5:26 am
hello my name is hannah i am 14 years old i have smoked for just under 2 years i no im not that addicted but i dont have the guts to stop thankyou for reading me x
December 12th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
This is not right people who make cigarettes should be killed.
This should be out lawed.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
SMOKING IS BAD FOR U
December 19th, 2007 at 5:38 am
I LOVE NOKING NICKERS !!
December 20th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Hi my name is Sepehr and I am 13 years old, I have a really kind Grandma that smoked alot. She lived in Iran and i moved to Canada. When i visisted at grade 2 i told her to stop but she couldn’t. Last year on my visit i used the facts on this exact website to make her stop. She still didn’t lsten. After a few days back at Canada, she calls me and tells me she quited because she missed me very much and that i was right. So i thank this website so much for giving me these facts to tell my grandmother. I thank you so much. Another thing, thanks again but not for the grandmother thing, instead for my huge essay on smoking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 24th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
You should list all 4000 chemicals in the cigarette.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Hi all,
I just want to say that its so easy to quit if you understand the reasons why we smoke.i listened to Allen Carrs ONLY WAY and found it easy and have enjoyed the freedom from the nicotine trap..thats what it is.We have been trapped by our up bringing,looking at our parents and society and think its ok,it helps us concentrate,it helps if we are bored,it relieves stress etc,these are all illusions and fake.cigarettes give nothing,only takes away…..I have done alot of research on the chemicals that the companies pump into “our friend”….Im so disgusted at the tolerance of our greedy gorvernments allowing this and collecting huge revenue from this evil addiction..Listen to Allen Carrs cds and check out what are in cigarettes and even so importantly check out how your poor heart and lungs,you lymphatic system,your mind/brain works and youll soon be asking yourself..do i need to do this???
Once you do youll have the greatest respect for your body,mind and soul…
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND SO MUCH TO GAIN..
Best wishes,
sunny owens.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
if you want to contact me my address is ztisunny@gmail.com
May 27th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
You’ll stink if you smoke.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:56 am
i smoke weed its so much better
November 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pm
everyone knows that smoking kills you , if you want to die a slow and painfull death then its your choice
its also you choice to stop smoking , and its easy to stop if you really want to , but you really have to WANT to stop, otherwise trying is a waste of time
November 6th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
hi i am 13 and i just read those letters and there pretty intence and i think that some of u peeps that wrote those letters should get them published because there just so amazing i nearly cried in one of them pklz do wat i sed\
x
November 10th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I lov to smoke and i am only 12…
its so addicting and im trying 2 stop.HELP!!!
December 4th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
why the fuck did you start anyway dumb ass.
December 12th, 2008 at 8:45 am
wow dude. thats alot of chemicals. i have to look this up for a health project (im in 8th grade) and its boring but oh well. my grandpa died of lung cancer… :’(
April 5th, 2009 at 1:51 am
I love Newports!!! lol na but i keep coughing blood,i still cant stop smoking! lol its really not funny.Im only 22
April 5th, 2009 at 1:53 am
KEEP IT KOOL LIKE CIGARETTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Smokin is so stupid…. have you every heard the sayin if you know better you’ll do better… apparently you all dont know any better because if you did you wouldn’t put your body in harms way…. but i cant say that because we all put ourselves at risk everyday by havin sex wit anonymous ppl and eatin off ppl…. using public bathrooms, the list goes on. at a young age you learn a thing or two about awareness so if you’re aware of something and you still do what you know isnt right then you should seriously seek professional help… why smoke and die when you can go out and do something useful and productive with your life? ask yourself that question cause if your life isnt important to you then we know you dont care about anyone elses life….. lolz just kiddin but help yourself by attemptin to stop because if you choose not to the result of your dumbfounded actions can be fatal….. hope you got something out of readin this short passage
April 29th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I’m doing research for a persuasive speech, my topic is cigarette pollution versus vehicle pollution. Yeah cigs are harmful to your health. BUT cigs aren’t the only thing. I have found several of the harmful chemicals that are in cigs are also in the air we breath the vehicles we drive, the medications we take, the foods we eat…shall i go on? Phenols are in Tylenol, formaldehyde is used in facial tissues, table napkins and it is used as a preservative IN VACCINES!…those go directly into your blood!!!; tar is released into the air by shoe manufacturing…; arsenic is used sprayed on fruit trees, is found in sea food and mushrooms, in ground(drinking) water, and is used in animal feed..animal eats feed with arsenic in it then you eat that animal…need i say more? Look up the chemicals in Wikipedia! And stop assuming that cigarettes are THE ONLY cause of cancers. You just CANNOT escape the dangers of cancer, not even if you don’t smoke. If you live on the planet earth you are at risk.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
this has helped me with my homework thanks….smoking is gayyyy.
:)
September 30th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Everyone please help!!! I’m 17, and I live with four smokers. I keep trying to tell them that they need to quit but they don’t listen to me, and they are ALL at their prim of life. One just turned 17, and three are 20. Which one of them has a kid on the way with me. I keep trying to get them to stop. I told them there is 4,000 chemicals, and possiblely then some. I have broken out into tear so much because they don’t listen to me about it. I lost my Grandma from lung cancer, and my Mom is forming ephazima. I shove that into their faces but they just say, “So what cancer don’t run in my family.” or something like that. Then the 17 year old he just sits there and argues with me over the fact that he needs to stop. I need MAJOR HELP! Can someone just please help me out with this situation? If so please email me at… insane_16_punk@yahoo.com I would really appriciate it. Thank you!
October 7th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I know it is hard for smokers to quit because of Nicotine, an addictive drug in a cigarette. The challenge is that if they really want to quit, They have to fight it wholeheartedly. List down the reasons why they want to quit and stick to it…
tanks
October 27th, 2009 at 6:30 am
@ Tiffany
I don’t know if this will work but showing a video of someone getting a part of their lung removed because of cancer or a video of family grieving at the news that the smoker’s lung cancer is incurable. You also need to educate them and tell them smoking is not cool and that they have been brainwashed by advertising. Tell them that cool people don’t throw their lives away etc.
Hope this helps in making ur friends redecide on whether or not they want to smoke.
October 27th, 2009 at 6:34 am
@ Tammy:
Yes there are other causes for cancer and lung issues when it comes to just air pollution. But by saying so doesn’t mean that since we already have harmful chemicals in our atmosphere that we should expose a more powerful and chemically dangerous cigarette to ourselves. I have heard my own father on many occasions argue this and I have told him that this excuse is not a valid reason to smoke.
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
hey so um yes, but SMOKING CAUSES CANCER AND MANY OTHER DIEASES SO QUIT NOW. all people who smoke are STUPID! there is one fact that i would like to say and that is that SMOKING KILLS YOU. my grandpa was killed by lung cancer from smoking, and i never got to meet him. SO DONT SMOKE. bye.
December 6th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Thx for all this info i had a massive assignment on it and it really helped. Also it helped mii 2 understand how hard it was for my mum and dad 2 quit when i was born.
December 16th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I have a Chemistry Assignment, so thanks a lot, this helped!
January 14th, 2010 at 9:30 am
i dont like smokers!
you cannot trust them.
but in anyways did you see eastenders last night ?
i missed it haha
February 21st, 2010 at 2:36 pm
OK, my battle continues, I will not give up. I am into the 8th day of this battle but am using a 14mg patch. I was down to 2-4 light american spirits per day before starting this mission. I smoked for about 17 years at about a pack per day. Even with the patch on I am experiencing some serious physical things going on with my body rebelling my choice. WTF? so I am here wondering wtf else is added into cigerrettes that I’m adjusting to not having. There is definitely something other then those 4 listed that is causing this additional withdrawal, actual physical pain and discomfort, lethargicness,,, Does anyone know what chemicals other than nicotine are in cigerretes that would cause this type of withdrawal pain?
May 9th, 2010 at 1:21 am
hey the 12 years old do u have msn
May 11th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
wow i didnt know this stuff in cigarettes were soo bad!! i am never smoking in my life!
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:22 am
ohhh,i know all these dangers before,but i want to see the chemical structure of cigarettes
September 30th, 2010 at 12:42 am
thats great guys, so if you wanna commit suicide except not yet, start smoking now and die in 40 years a slow and painful death. its a win win situations
joking lol
October 4th, 2010 at 11:27 am
I want a cigarette now =(
October 18th, 2010 at 9:41 am
u need to list all 4000 of the chemicals and these are bad for your health
March 1st, 2011 at 9:12 am
[…] QuitAid.com » Chemicals in Cigarettes Chemicals in Cigarettes. There are over 4000 different chemicals in cigarette smoke. Scientists have identified that at least 43 of these cause cancer. QuitAid.com » Chemicals in Cigarettes […]
March 30th, 2011 at 7:54 am
somkeing will kill you
April 14th, 2011 at 10:31 am
yeah, obviously there are other things in our world that will kill us. yes cancer is all around us, but are you really that stupid??? you directly inhale a cigarette. kills way faster!
June 7th, 2011 at 4:13 pm
smokers are bad
June 7th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
smokers are jokers
June 7th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
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September 30th, 2011 at 9:10 pm
im putting my foot down and quitting after 15 years of smoking cold turkey. if you were smart, you’d do the same. i lost my grandpa due to smoking and i met him once….when i was a baby,15 years of my life cut off….who knows how many more i’ll add by stopping now.
PEACE.
October 25th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
I am 48 yrs of age. I was addicted to cigs from the age of 14. I quite at age 44. I stupidly started back for 4 months ago but so far, have quite again for 2 weeks. I was warned not to gamble with cigs but I did’nt listen. My advise, if you’ve never tried it, dont gamble. If you managed to quite, dont gamble again, thinking you can control it etc. Very few people seem to be able to truly control it. It is not as difficult to quite as I thought it would be (I dont generally have a lot of will power) but you have to wait for the right time, when you’re in the right mind set. You have to come to a point when you decided you want to start loving & taking care of yourself. That you’re not prepared to keep on poisoning & slowly killing yourself. Don’t panic & think how am I going to do this. Don’t criticize yourself if you fail. Just wait until the next time you’re in the mind set to try again. Take it hour by hour. The cravings only last for a couple of minutes. Think of it as a great time, time to rejoice / be happy cause you are finally taking measures to take care of yourself (& you’ll also make friends & family pleased with you)It’s a mind game more than a chemical addiction. ‘Champix’ is a tablet that apparently really helps you to stop smoking. I do agree with some of the other comments - the people responsible for this industry, especially the additions of poisons, as well as many other industries, need dealing with in a serious manner.
December 27th, 2011 at 11:55 am
i quit a year ago. yes, i was able to quit with the help of a patch for 30 days. i currently smoke electronic. yes it has 1 chemical as oppossed to 4000. and its no more then what they put in our food. i find that lately people that are getting cancer & were putting them in there place of rest very soon after they are told they have cancer. i find that very wiered, what the heck are they really putting in real cigs lately for us to die right after were told we have cancer? i smoked 2 packs a day for years. i would recomend electronic any day of the wk before going back to what i call cancer sticks.my dr says there is no more gurgling sound in my lungs:)
January 14th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
I’m 15, and I’m aware of the dangers. But, some people need to understand that I don’t fear cancer, or death.
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:24 am
Mehh..?
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:27 am
MeRR..?
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:28 am
Mehh..?
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:29 am
MeRR..?
January 25th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Mehh..?
January 31st, 2012 at 10:51 am
I think that smoking is a very dangerous thing to do
but you also harm other people around you
February 1st, 2012 at 1:39 pm
somiking is verry bad for you