Harmful Chemicals Found in Cigarettes

As smokers, little attention is paid to the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes or chose to ignore them. Smokers usually think about the other minor benefits that we can overcome in other ways. Benefits like how it can help them cope with stress, calm them down, relax after a long hard day, a comforter.

Do you know or have you ever wonder, that cigarettes are one of few products which can be sold legally which can harm and even kill you over time!

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals with at least 400 poisonous and more than 50, cancer-causing ones.

Three of the most widely known chemicals are nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide.

Nicotine

Nicotine is a strong poisonous and addictive drug. It acts as a stimulant causing heart rate and blood pressure to climb. Not only does it increase the stickiness of blood in you, it also decreases your blood vessels diameter thus increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

It is the main ingredient in insecticides.

Tar

Tar is a black and sticky residue used to cover road surfaces. It clogs up the lungs and causes lung cancer.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. This is the same gas found in car exhaust smoke. Carbon monoxide interferes with our respiratory (breathing) and circulatory (heart, arteries, and veins) systems.

It robs your body of oxygen making your heart work harder. Overtime, you get swollen airways thus letting lesser air into your lungs.

That is why smokers suffer from shortness of breath and lack of stamina.

Other harmful chemicals found in cigarettes smoke:

Acetone

Used in nail polish remover and paint stripper.

Arsenic

Deadly poison found in rat poison.

Ammonia

Used in dry cleaning industry, also used to boost the impact of nicotine in cigarettes.

Benzene

Benzene can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke. Can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, unconsciousness. It is a known carcinogen and is associated with leukemia.

Cadmium

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that is used in car batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.

DDT

A pesticide used to kill insects.

Formaldehyde

Chemical used in preserving dead bodies. Known to cause cancer, gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin problems.

Hydrogen Cyanide

Hydrogen cyanide was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II.

The list goes on and on and it will be too long to list out all the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke here.

The harmful chemicals found in cigarettes can cause or lead to but not necessary restricted to asthma, blindness, cancer, respiratory diseases, headache, nausea, dizziness, affect the reproductive system.

Of course smoking is a personal choice and it is OK if you suffer but don’t bring it onto others. Spare a thought for the non-smokers, your loved ones.

You may argue the fact that there are some who suffer the same diseases even though they are non-smokers and not subjected to all the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke. However, have you ever thought that you may be one of the contributing factors?

Wilson is an ex-smoker, here to share his views on methods to quit smoking and help those trying or thinking to kick the addiction. It’s tough to quit smoking but it can be done.

It’s never too late to quit smoking, don’t give up and the key to your success is you

Find out more information, help, tips and guide at http://www.myquitsmokingsecrets.com/

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Harmful Chemicals Found in Cigarettes