Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health
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Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health
Is smoking tobacco really addictive?
Why do people start smoking?
How many people use tobacco?
What in tobacco smoke is harmful?
Is secondhand (environmental) tobacco smoke dangerous?
How does tobacco use affect the economy?
What’s being done to protect people from the hazards of smoking?
Are spit tobacco and snuff safe alternatives to smoking?
What are the health risks of smoking pipes or cigars?
What about electronic cigarettes? Aren’t they safe?
Is dissolvable tobacco safe?
What about more exotic forms of smoking tobacco, such as clove cigarettes, bidis, and hookahs?
What can I do to help with any damage that may have been caused by smoking?
Can quitting really help a lifelong smoker?
How do people quit tobacco?
To learn more
References
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Is secondhand (environmental) tobacco smoke dangerous?
What in tobacco smoke is harmful?
Cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco are made from dried tobacco leaves, as well as ingredients added for flavor and to make smoking more pleasant. The smoke from these products is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by the burning of tobacco and its additives. 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 too, and all of them can be deadly. You might be surprised to know some of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke include:
Cyanide
Benzene
Formaldehyde
Methanol (wood alcohol)
Acetylene (the fuel used in welding torches)
Ammonia
Tobacco smoke also contains tar and the poison gases carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. The ingredient that produces the effect people are looking for is nicotine, an addictive drug and one of the harshest chemicals in tobacco smoke.
The tobacco leaves used in making cigarettes and cigars contain radioactive materials; the amount depends on the soil the plants were grown in and fertilizers used. But this means that the smoke contains small amounts of radioactive material too, which smokers take into their lungs as they inhale. These radioactive particles build up in the lungs, and over time can mean a big dose of radiation. This may be another key factor in smokers getting lung cancer.
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/questionsaboutsmokingtobaccoandhealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-cancer-and-health
Nicotine is a natural poison and can be used to kill insects. Some insecticides include poisons derived from nicotine.
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/tobaccosmoke/chapter3.pdf
I have a friend who claims that it is the additives that cause the health problems. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. If you value your health and still smoke, the best thing to do is to stop smoking. Stopping smoking has saved some lives and certainly never hurt anyone. I know I'm being bossy. But at my age, I've seen a lot of smokers die young.
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