II. Amazing Experiment;
III. List of Chemicals and Additives;
IV. Smoking Deaths Worldwide;
I. The effects of smoking on human health are serious and in many cases, deadly. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds of which are toxic. The ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body's immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread.
Smoking Effects on the Human Body:
- Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways.
- Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.
- Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.
- Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.
- The carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers.
- Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections.
- There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COPD.
- The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers.
- Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another damaging process that may result in oxidative stress.
II. Amazing Experiment:
III. What do we really inhale when smoking?
When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending literally thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens coursing through our bloodstream with every puff we take. And those chemicals affect everything from blood pressure and pulse rate to the health of our organs and immune system.
Let's take a closer look at some of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes and how they affect our health.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Carcinogens
A carcinogen is defined as any substance that can cause or aggravate cancer. Approximately 60 of the chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer.
Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs): are known to be some of the most potent carcinogens present in smokeless tobacco, snuff and tobacco smoke.
Benzene: can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.
Pesticides: are used on our lawns and gardens, and inhaled into our lungs via cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde: is a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, and is responsible for some of the nose, throat and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Toxic Metals
Toxic / heavy metals are metals and metal compounds that have the potential to harm our health when absorbed or inhaled. In very small amounts, some of these metals support life, but when taken in large amounts, can become toxic.
Arsenic: commonly used in rat poison, arsenic finds its way into cigarette smoke through some of the pesticides that are used in tobacco farming.
Cadmium: is a toxic heavy metal that is used in batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Radioactive Toxic Metals
There are a couple of toxic metals in cigarette smoke that carry an extra punch of danger for anyone breathing it in: they are radioactive.
Radioactive Cigarette Smoke Lead-210 (Pb-210) and polonium-210 (Po-210) are poisonous, radioactive heavy metals that research has shown to be present in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Poisons
Poison is defined as any substance that, when introduced to a living organism, causes severe physical distress or death. Science has discovered approximately 200 poisonous gases in cigarette smoke.
Ammonia: compounds are commonly used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Ammonia is also used to boost the impact of nicotine in manufactured cigarettes.
Carbon monoxide: is present in car exhaust and is lethal in very large amounts. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide.
Hydrogen cyanide: was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II. It can be found in cigarette smoke.
Nicotine: is a poison used in pesticides and is the addictive element in cigarettes.
IV. Smoking Deaths Worldwide
Around 5.4 million deaths a year are caused by tobacco.
Smoking is set to kill 6.5 million people in 2015 and 8.3 million humans in 2030, with the biggest rise in low-and middle-income countries.
Every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
An estimated 1.3 billion people are smokers worldwide (WHO).
Over 443,000 Americans (over 18 percent of all deaths) die because of smoking each year. Secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.
1.2 million people in China die because of smoking each year. That's 2,000 people a day.
33 percent to 50 percent of all smokers are killed by their habit.
Smokers die on average 15 years sooner than nonsmokers.
Between 33 percent and 50 percent of all smokers will die an average of 15 years sooner than nonsmokers, the Tobacco Atlas from the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society believes.
Around 100 million people died because of tobacco use in the 20th century. 10 years of life are robbed from smokers because they die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Smoking also steals 10 years of physical functioning in old age (making smokers act really old), according to Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Good-Looking Corpse by David M. Burns, MD (Archives of Internal Medicine).
Smoking causes more death and disability than any single disease (World Health Organization).
A "death clock" now follows the tobacco use death toll since October 1999, just under 40 million and counting. It was set up by the World Health Organization in October 2008.
650,000 Europeans die each year from tobacco-related diseases, EU figures reveal.
Quitting smoking is being attributed to Victorian (Australia) males born in 2006 having a life expectancy of 80 years old. This puts them ahead of Japanese men's average life expectancy of 79 years.
Highest US smoking death rate according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:
* Kentucky
* West Virginia
* Nevada
* Mississippi
* Oklahoma
* Tennessee
* Arkansas
* Alabama
* Indiana
* Missouri
The lowest US death rates from smoking were Utah and Hawaii (CDC).
In India, about 900,000 Indians a year die from smoking-related diseases, that's nearly one in 10 of all deaths in India. Half of Indian males use tobacco and it is becoming more popular with younger people.
In Russia, smoking kills between 400,000 and 500,000 Russians every year from smoking ailments.
In Japan, smoking is the leading cause of death and is responsible for 20% of all cancers. 50 percent of men and 14 percent of women smoke.
About 140,000 Germans die every year from tobacco-related illnesses. Nearly one in three German adults smokes regularly. Some studies estimate that 3,000-4,000 deaths per year can be attributed to passive smoking.
In the UK, 90,000 people die from smoking each year.
In Turkey, around 110,000 people each year die of smoking-related illnesses, according to official figures.
In France, there are about 66,000 smoking-related deaths each year and up to 5,800 deaths from passive smoking, inhaling the smoke of smokers. About 12 million people are smokers, 25 percent of the population.
In Spain, there are 50,000 smoking-related deaths annually. About 30 percent of Spaniards smoke.
In Canada, 37,000 people die from smoking every year, according to the Ministry of Health.
In Greece, where 45% of the population smokes, an estimated 20,000 people die of smoking-related diseases each year. 600 people die every year from passive smoking. The number of smokers in Greece has gone up 10 percent in 10 years).
In Australia, 15,000 to 19,000 Australians deaths each year are caused by smoking. Roughly 20% of the Australian population smokes. Government officials are trying to address the issue. More than 4,000 Victorians die from soming every year. More than 3,400 Queenslanders die because of smoking each year.
13,000 Scots are killed every year by tobacco where about 30% of the population smokes. Up to 2,000 people die of passive smoking annually. Smoking kills 6 times more Scots than accidents, murder, suicide, falls and poisoning combined (Edinburgh Evening News).
In Ireland, 6,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases. Smoking-related illnesses kill 2,500 people in Northern Ireland each year.
More than two thirds of the world's smokers live in just 10 countries (WHO):
1. China
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Russia
5. US
6. Japan
7. Brazil
8. Bangladesh
9. Germany
10. Turkey
Ready to die in middle age? Keep smoking, according to researchers in Norway who tracked more than 50,000 people for a quarter century.
"Tobacco shortens the lifespan of smokers by 25 years with about 70% of people who begin smoking from their teens die by age 45", Dr. Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital said.
Quit smoking and watch the risk of dying in middle age quickly fall. Give yourself the chance to live longer.
41 percent of men who smoked a pack or more a day died in middle age, compared to 14 percent of those who never smoked.
26 percent of women who smoked heavily died in middle age, compared to 9 percent of those who never smoked.
44.5 million Americans, currently smoke or about 21 percent of American adults, according to estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
168,000 Americans died of cancer due to tobacco use in 2007 (American Cancer Society).
Kentucky is #1. That is, the state with the highest smoking rate and the most smoking related deaths in the US.
Smoking-related deaths in NYC fell more than 11 percent from 8,722 to 7,744 during 2002 to 2006 (after the New York City smoking ban).
Up to 2.5 million people in China will die annually by 2025, if growing tobacco use in China continues at current trends the Beijing Daily Messenger reported, citing World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending literally thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens coursing through our bloodstream with every puff we take. And those chemicals affect everything from blood pressure and pulse rate to the health of our organs and immune system.
Let's take a closer look at some of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes and how they affect our health.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Carcinogens
A carcinogen is defined as any substance that can cause or aggravate cancer. Approximately 60 of the chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer.
Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs): are known to be some of the most potent carcinogens present in smokeless tobacco, snuff and tobacco smoke.
Benzene: can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.
Pesticides: are used on our lawns and gardens, and inhaled into our lungs via cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde: is a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, and is responsible for some of the nose, throat and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Toxic Metals
Toxic / heavy metals are metals and metal compounds that have the potential to harm our health when absorbed or inhaled. In very small amounts, some of these metals support life, but when taken in large amounts, can become toxic.
Arsenic: commonly used in rat poison, arsenic finds its way into cigarette smoke through some of the pesticides that are used in tobacco farming.
Cadmium: is a toxic heavy metal that is used in batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Radioactive Toxic Metals
There are a couple of toxic metals in cigarette smoke that carry an extra punch of danger for anyone breathing it in: they are radioactive.
Radioactive Cigarette Smoke Lead-210 (Pb-210) and polonium-210 (Po-210) are poisonous, radioactive heavy metals that research has shown to be present in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Poisons
Poison is defined as any substance that, when introduced to a living organism, causes severe physical distress or death. Science has discovered approximately 200 poisonous gases in cigarette smoke.
Ammonia: compounds are commonly used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Ammonia is also used to boost the impact of nicotine in manufactured cigarettes.
Carbon monoxide: is present in car exhaust and is lethal in very large amounts. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide.
Hydrogen cyanide: was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II. It can be found in cigarette smoke.
Nicotine: is a poison used in pesticides and is the addictive element in cigarettes.
IV. Smoking Deaths Worldwide
Around 5.4 million deaths a year are caused by tobacco.
Smoking is set to kill 6.5 million people in 2015 and 8.3 million humans in 2030, with the biggest rise in low-and middle-income countries.
Every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
An estimated 1.3 billion people are smokers worldwide (WHO).
Over 443,000 Americans (over 18 percent of all deaths) die because of smoking each year. Secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.
1.2 million people in China die because of smoking each year. That's 2,000 people a day.
33 percent to 50 percent of all smokers are killed by their habit.
Smokers die on average 15 years sooner than nonsmokers.
Between 33 percent and 50 percent of all smokers will die an average of 15 years sooner than nonsmokers, the Tobacco Atlas from the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society believes.
Around 100 million people died because of tobacco use in the 20th century. 10 years of life are robbed from smokers because they die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Smoking also steals 10 years of physical functioning in old age (making smokers act really old), according to Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Good-Looking Corpse by David M. Burns, MD (Archives of Internal Medicine).
Smoking causes more death and disability than any single disease (World Health Organization).
A "death clock" now follows the tobacco use death toll since October 1999, just under 40 million and counting. It was set up by the World Health Organization in October 2008.
650,000 Europeans die each year from tobacco-related diseases, EU figures reveal.
Quitting smoking is being attributed to Victorian (Australia) males born in 2006 having a life expectancy of 80 years old. This puts them ahead of Japanese men's average life expectancy of 79 years.
Highest US smoking death rate according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:
* Kentucky
* West Virginia
* Nevada
* Mississippi
* Oklahoma
* Tennessee
* Arkansas
* Alabama
* Indiana
* Missouri
The lowest US death rates from smoking were Utah and Hawaii (CDC).
In India, about 900,000 Indians a year die from smoking-related diseases, that's nearly one in 10 of all deaths in India. Half of Indian males use tobacco and it is becoming more popular with younger people.
In Russia, smoking kills between 400,000 and 500,000 Russians every year from smoking ailments.
In Japan, smoking is the leading cause of death and is responsible for 20% of all cancers. 50 percent of men and 14 percent of women smoke.
About 140,000 Germans die every year from tobacco-related illnesses. Nearly one in three German adults smokes regularly. Some studies estimate that 3,000-4,000 deaths per year can be attributed to passive smoking.
In the UK, 90,000 people die from smoking each year.
In Turkey, around 110,000 people each year die of smoking-related illnesses, according to official figures.
In France, there are about 66,000 smoking-related deaths each year and up to 5,800 deaths from passive smoking, inhaling the smoke of smokers. About 12 million people are smokers, 25 percent of the population.
In Spain, there are 50,000 smoking-related deaths annually. About 30 percent of Spaniards smoke.
In Canada, 37,000 people die from smoking every year, according to the Ministry of Health.
In Greece, where 45% of the population smokes, an estimated 20,000 people die of smoking-related diseases each year. 600 people die every year from passive smoking. The number of smokers in Greece has gone up 10 percent in 10 years).
In Australia, 15,000 to 19,000 Australians deaths each year are caused by smoking. Roughly 20% of the Australian population smokes. Government officials are trying to address the issue. More than 4,000 Victorians die from soming every year. More than 3,400 Queenslanders die because of smoking each year.
In Ireland, 6,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases. Smoking-related illnesses kill 2,500 people in Northern Ireland each year.
More than two thirds of the world's smokers live in just 10 countries (WHO):
1. China
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Russia
5. US
6. Japan
7. Brazil
8. Bangladesh
9. Germany
10. Turkey
Ready to die in middle age? Keep smoking, according to researchers in Norway who tracked more than 50,000 people for a quarter century.
"Tobacco shortens the lifespan of smokers by 25 years with about 70% of people who begin smoking from their teens die by age 45", Dr. Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital said.
Quit smoking and watch the risk of dying in middle age quickly fall. Give yourself the chance to live longer.
41 percent of men who smoked a pack or more a day died in middle age, compared to 14 percent of those who never smoked.
26 percent of women who smoked heavily died in middle age, compared to 9 percent of those who never smoked.
44.5 million Americans, currently smoke or about 21 percent of American adults, according to estimates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
168,000 Americans died of cancer due to tobacco use in 2007 (American Cancer Society).
Kentucky is #1. That is, the state with the highest smoking rate and the most smoking related deaths in the US.
Smoking-related deaths in NYC fell more than 11 percent from 8,722 to 7,744 during 2002 to 2006 (after the New York City smoking ban).
Up to 2.5 million people in China will die annually by 2025, if growing tobacco use in China continues at current trends the Beijing Daily Messenger reported, citing World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
The Effects of Smoking on Human Health
Smoking Effects
The effects of smoking on human health are serious and in many cases, deadly. There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, hundreds of which are toxic. The ingredients in cigarettes affect everything from the internal functioning of organs to the efficiency of the body's immune system. The effects of cigarette smoking are destructive and widespread.
- Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways.
- Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.
- Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.
- Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.
- The carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers.
- Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections.
- There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COPD.
- The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers.
- Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another damaging process that may result in oxidative stress.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004.
Chemicals in Cigarettes
When the ingredients in cigarettes are burned, they produce a whole host of chemical compounds, many of which are poisonous and/or carcinogenic. Hydrogen cyanide, a colorless, poisonous gas, is one of the toxic byproducts present in cigarette smoke.
Under the name of Zyklon B, hydrogen cyanide was used as a genocidal agent during World War II. While no one would willingly breathe hydrogen cyanide into their lungs, smokers do it multiple times with every cigarette they inhale. And because hydrogen cyanide is present in secondhand smoke, nonsmokers are also at risk of breathing in this poison when they are exposed to cigarette smoke. Smoking cigarettes is probably a major source of cyanide exposure for people who do not work in cyanide-related industries.
In manufacturing, cyanide is present in the chemicals used to make numerous products such as paper, textiles and plastics. In gaseous form, cyanide is used in pesticides to exterminate rats and other undesirable vermin.
While it is unlikely that a person would suffer cyanide poisoning from cigarette smoke, breathing in small amounts of hydrogen cyanide may cause:
Under the name of Zyklon B, hydrogen cyanide was used as a genocidal agent during World War II. While no one would willingly breathe hydrogen cyanide into their lungs, smokers do it multiple times with every cigarette they inhale. And because hydrogen cyanide is present in secondhand smoke, nonsmokers are also at risk of breathing in this poison when they are exposed to cigarette smoke. Smoking cigarettes is probably a major source of cyanide exposure for people who do not work in cyanide-related industries.
In manufacturing, cyanide is present in the chemicals used to make numerous products such as paper, textiles and plastics. In gaseous form, cyanide is used in pesticides to exterminate rats and other undesirable vermin.
While it is unlikely that a person would suffer cyanide poisoning from cigarette smoke, breathing in small amounts of hydrogen cyanide may cause:
- headache
- dizziness
- weakness
- nausea
- vomiting
- gasping
- irregular heartbeats
- seizures
- fainting
- rapid death
Treatment for hydrogen cyanide poisoning includes breathing pure oxygen, and in the case of serious symptoms, treatment with specific cyanide antidotes. Persons with serious symptoms will need to be hospitalized.
Source:
Facts About Cyanide. 27 January, 2004. Centers for Disease Control.
Introduction
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,700 chemical compounds including 60 known carcinogens. No threshold level of exposure to cigarette smoke has been defined but there is conclusive evidence to indicate that long-term (years) smoking greatly increases the likelihood of developing numerous fatal conditions.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 85% of lung cancers and is also associated with cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, uterine cervix, kidney, ureter, bladder and colon. Cigarette smoking has also been linked to Leukaemia. Apart from the carcinogenic aspects of cigarette smoking, links to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases (including stroke), sudden death, cardiac arrest, peripheral vascular disease and aortic aneurysm have also been established. Many components of Cigarette smoke have also been characterised as Ciliotoxic materials that irritate the lining of the respiratory system resulting in increased bronchial mucus secretion and chronic decreases in pulmonary and mucociliary function.
A 1992 report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) examined the effects of Passive Smoking (also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) or Second-hand smoke) and concluded that it posed a similar risk to direct cigarette smoking. The report actually resulted in cigarette smoke being classified as a "group A" carcinogen by the EPA, a category reserved for the more potent known human carcinogens.
Cigarette smoke itself may be broken down into two categories of smoke - Mainstream smoke (MS) and Sidestream smoke (SS). MS is that smoke which is inhaled by the smoker from the cigarette during a puff. SS is that smoke which is emitted by the burning cigarette between puffs. The chemical compositions of both types of smoke are qualitatively similar since they are both derived from burning tobacoo, however, there are some significant quantitative differences between MS and SS. The temperature at which MS is formed is much higher than the temperature at which SS is formed, since the smoker is actively inhaling from the cigarette during the generation of MS. A result of this is that SS contains larger quantities of many organic chemical compounds than MS. One study has tentatively suggested that SS may be more carcinogenic than MS at the same concentrations.
Regulations governing Cigarette smoking have been increasingly strict since July 1957, when Dr. Leroy E. Burney (US Surgeon General) issued the first Public Health services statement on cigarette smoking - smoking was identified as a cause of lung cancer. This observation was based more on epidemiological data than specific scientific evidence that identified carcinogenic materials in cigarette smoke, however research in the last 30 years has confirmed the epidemiological observations made previously. ETS has become the latest aspect of cigarette smoking to come under regulation with the realisation that ETS does contribute to increased risk of lung cancer amongst exposed non-smokers. Most US states have legislation controlling or restricting smoking in public areas including restaurants. Many states have or are implementing complete bans on smoking in or within the vicinity of public areas, while many businesses have adopted non-smoking policies. In Ireland, legislation has not reached the same level, but it is inevitable and currently, the Public Health Act restricts smoking in public areas and on public transport services.
Cigarette Smoke Chemical constituents
As mentioned previously, cigarette smoke contains over 4,700 chemical compounds of which about 60 are carcinogenic. The following tables, sourced from US Surgeon General Reports on the Health Consequences of smoking summarise the toxic components of cigarettes.
| Agent | Toxic | Ciliotoxic | Carcinogenic | Co-carcinogenic / Promoter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Monoxide | x | |||
| Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) | x | |||
| Hydrogen Cyanide | x | x | ||
| Formaldehyde | x | x | ||
| Acrolein | x | |||
| Acetaldehyde | x | |||
| Ammonia | x | |||
| Hydrazine | x | |||
| Vinyl Chloride | x | |||
| Urethane | x | |||
| 2-Nitropropane | x | |||
| Quinoline | x | |||
| Benzo[a]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,h]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[b]fluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[j]fluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[a,h]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[a,i]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,j]acridine | x | x | ||
| Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[c]phenanthrene | x | x | ||
| Benz[a]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[e]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Chrysene | x | x | ||
| Methylchrysene | x | x | ||
| Mehtylfluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,c]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,h]acridine | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[c,g]carbazole | x | x | ||
| Mehtylnaphtalenes | x | |||
| 1-Methylindoles | x | |||
| Dichlorostilbene | x | |||
| Catechol | x | |||
| 3-Methycatechol | x | |||
| 4-Methycatechol | x | |||
| 4-Ethycatechol | x | |||
| 4-n-Propylcatechol | x | |||
| Nitrosodimethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosoethymethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodiethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodi-n-propylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodi-n-butylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosopyrrolidine | x | |||
| Nitrosopiperidine | x | |||
| Nitrosomorpholine | x | |||
| N'-Nitrosonornicotine | x | |||
| 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone | x | |||
| N'-Nitrosoanabasine | x | |||
| N'-Nitrosoanatabine | x | |||
| Aromatic Amines | x | |||
| Aromatic Nitrohydrocarbons | x | |||
| Polonium-210 | x | |||
| Nickel | x | |||
| Arsenic | x | |||
| Cadmium | x | |||
While it is not possible to examine all the compounds and their respective toxicological effects, this report will focus on the primary carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. The primary cancer causing agents found in cigarette smoke may be broadly categorised as follows,
Carcinogenic
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)
- N-nitrosaminous compounds
- Aromatic Amines
- Trace metals
Promoters
Aromatic compounds that have rings which share at least one side are described as Fused-ring systems or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. There are many PAHs in cigarette smoke including Benzo[a]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene and Benz[a]anthracene.
These are reactive compounds that tend to form epoxides when metabolised becoming extremely genotoxic. They act as tumour initiators. Benzo[a]pyrene is a particularly good example of a cigarette smoke PAH which has been studied extensively. About 40 of it's oxygenated metabolites have been isolated and characterised with at least one of them being a potent mutagen. The resulting epoxide metabolite, benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide forms an adduct with DNA in mouse embryo cells, indicating that the diol-epoxide is the metabolic intermediate responsible for reacting with DNA.
N-nitrosamines
N-nitrosamines are formed by the nitrosation of amines. Cigarette smoke contains two major types of N-nitrosamines, Volatile N-nitrosamines (VNA) and Tobacoo Specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA). Practically all Volatile N-nitrosamines are retained by the respiratory system upon cigarette smoke inhalation. Typical cigarette smoke VNAs include N-nitrosdiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), both of which are classified as potent environmental carcinogens.
As of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) 1986 report, these substances had not been classified as Human carcinogens due to lack of scientific research, however, on the basis of large amounts of research on laboratory animals indicating carcinogenicity it is generally felt that they should be regarded as carcinogenic to humans. In a 1968 study for instance, in which 36 Syrian Golden Hamsters were given a single dose of only 6 mg of NDEA, 29 suffered Tumours of the respiratory trace.
Studies of N-nitrosamines indicate that it is a metabolically activated carcinogen which disrupts DNA. The metabolic activation is brought about by the demethylating enzyme Cytochrome P-450 which requires NADPH and O2. The presence of alcohol seems to enhance N-nitrosamine metabolism to it's carcinogenic metabolite. This would appear to indicate that alcohol potentiates the effects of N-nitrosamines as carcinogens and would explain the observed increased incidence of cancer of the oral cavity and oesophagus in smokers who also drink large amounts of alcohol.
Aromatic Amines
Epidemiological studies of dye workers have documented that certain aromatic amines such as 2-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl are human bladder carcinogens. 2-naphthylamine is converted to an N-hydroxy derivative metabolic intermediate, which is capable of forming adducts with guanine in nucleic acids.
Trace Metals
While it is generally felt that the quantities of Cadmium, Nickel, Arsenic and Polonium-210 found in cigarette smoke do not significantly contribute to an increased risk of lung cancer or other smoking-related cancers, their role as potentiators or co-factors has not been researched to-date in any great detail.
These metals tend to accumulate in the body and could possibly act as promoters in conjunction with carcinogens in cigarette smoke. Cadmium for instance (several forms of which are suspected carcinogens) is only present at concentrations of 50-100 ng in cigarette smoke but it has been suggested that a heavy smoker will retain up to 1.5 g of it per day leading to a lifetime accumulation of 0.5 mg.
The importance of Arsenic as a toxic component of cigarette smoke has diminished following the removal of Arsenic containing compounds from the list if recommended pesticides in the US for the control of hornworms on tobacco. This has resulted in a large decrease in the amount of Arsenic in tobacco and consequently cigarette smoke. A review by the International Agency for Cancer (IARC) suggested that arsenic compounds could potentially act as human skin carcinogens.
Nickel, classified as a suspected human carcinogen (IARC, 1986) is present in concentrations up to 80 ng in cigarette smoke (MS). Nickel has been shown to induce sarcomas by subcutaneous injection in laboratory animals. Nickel Subsulphide (Ni3S2) has been shown to have even greater potency, inducing a high rate of renal carcinomas in rats after exposure to only a single 5 mg dose (Intravenally injected).
Polonium-210, a radioactive material that emits -particles, accumulates at a higher rate in the parenchyma and bronchial mucosa of smokers. Studies on Syrian Golden Hamsters using multiple intratracheal instillations of Polonium-210 have revealed a dose-response relationship with bronchocarcinomas and adenocarcinomas in the respiratory system.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)
The 1986 report by the US Surgeon General on Involuntary Smoking came to the following conclusions,
ETS, like cigarette smoke, is undoubtedly a causative agent for a number of human diseases including various cancers and diseases of the respiratory tract aswell as middle ear infections in exposed children. Non-carcinogenic lung disease may be broken down into two major areas, disease of the lung airways (inflammation of the airways, increased bronchial mucus secretions,etc.) and disease of the lung parenchyma (alveolar tissue damage resulting in emphysema). Non-smokers exposed to ETS generally do not suffer from lung parenchyma disease unless they have a genetic predisposition to weakened lung tissue, however, disease of the lung airways can be induced by much smaller doses of cigarette smoke. With regard to Lung cancer, there is a tentative dose-response relationship which indicates that higher ETS exposure levels increases the risk of lung cancer but lower doses could also result in cancer.
Studies have been conducted on the effects of ETS on both children and adults. With regard to ETS, the main risk group is children and infants, particularly up to the age of 2 years.
Effects of ETS exposure on children
ETS exposure due to parental smoking, especially the mother's, contributes to 150,000 to 300,000 cases annually of lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia, bronchitis, and other infections) in infants and children under 18 months of age. ETS exposure is also associated with increased respiratory irritation (cough, phlegm production, and wheezing) and middle ear infections, as well as upper respiratory tract symptoms (sore throats and colds) in infants and children. Two other infant-specific conditions known to be linked to ETS exposure have been researched in recent times, these being middle ear infections (MEI) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
A report in May, 1995 entitled Passive Smoke Exposure and Otitis Media sought to clarify the link between ETS exposure in infants and occurrence of otitis media (middle ear infections). It concluded that a significant increase in MEI risk was caused by exposure to ETS with the threshold being a maternal smoking level of 20 or more cigarettes a day. The mechanisms by which MEI are brought about by ETS include increased general risk of infection in individuals exposed to ETS and increased mucus secretion and ciliostasis effects bringing about an accumulation of mucus and bacteria in the middle ear region.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a significant cause of death in infants aged from 1 month to a year and studies have established a conclusive link between it's occurrence and maternal smoking. Increased maternal smoking which results in increased ETS exposure to infants leads to a higher risk of SIDS independently of other confounding risk factors including low birth weight and low gestational age (both of which, incidentally are associated with maternal active smoking during pregnancy).
Effects of ETS exposure on adults
Estimates that ETS exposure causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually have been made. This is the primary area of risk associated with ETS exposure to adult non-smokers. The 1992 report by the EPA Respiratory Health Effects of Passive smoking: Lung Cancer and other Disorders classified ETS as a Group A carcinogen - a category reserved only for the most dangerous cancer-causing agents in humans. The risks of other cancers due to ETS exposure have not currently been evaluated in great detail at this stage but it seems likely that most cancers linked to cigarette smoking will be linked to ETS following suitable study. Other effects of ETS exposure in adults include chronic coughing, phlegm and wheezing; decreased pulmonary function (a 1980 report on 2100 adults found that the magnitude of the effects of ETS on pulmonary function was comparable to active smoking of 1 to 10 cigarettes per day) and bronchoconstriction.
Asthmatics appear to have a heightened sensitivity to ETS exposure, with studies showing 25% decreased lung function in asthmatics exposed in the laboratory to levels of ETS that had no effect on smokers.
Conclusions
Cigarette smoke appears to be one the main, preventable causes of disease in the modern world and it seems likely that conventional cigarette smoking will become increasingly restricted as public awareness of the effects of ETS increases and other dangers of smoking become more apparent. Cigarette smoking as a habit is also threatened by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which is currently contemplating reclassification of cigarettes as a drug delivery device, this would inevitably result in much tighter controls on cigarette sales. Environmental Tobacco Smoke exposure presents a definite health risk, particularly to young infants and high-risk groups (including groups with genetic predispositions to ETS exposure risk and workers dealing with materials such as asbestos which appears to potentiate the effects of carcinogens in cigarette smoke) and it is the responsibility of smokers to ensure that they do not provide unnecessary health hazards to non-smokers. It has so far been impossible to define a threshold level below which ETS or direct cigarette smoker exposure can be deemed safe and free from risks since it the whole concept of whether a carcinogen can possibly have a safe threshold level is currently under debate.
References:
- Catechols
- Pyrenes
- Asbestos
- Alcohol
Aromatic compounds that have rings which share at least one side are described as Fused-ring systems or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. There are many PAHs in cigarette smoke including Benzo[a]pyrene, Dibenz[a,h]anthracene and Benz[a]anthracene.
These are reactive compounds that tend to form epoxides when metabolised becoming extremely genotoxic. They act as tumour initiators. Benzo[a]pyrene is a particularly good example of a cigarette smoke PAH which has been studied extensively. About 40 of it's oxygenated metabolites have been isolated and characterised with at least one of them being a potent mutagen. The resulting epoxide metabolite, benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide forms an adduct with DNA in mouse embryo cells, indicating that the diol-epoxide is the metabolic intermediate responsible for reacting with DNA.
N-nitrosamines
N-nitrosamines are formed by the nitrosation of amines. Cigarette smoke contains two major types of N-nitrosamines, Volatile N-nitrosamines (VNA) and Tobacoo Specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA). Practically all Volatile N-nitrosamines are retained by the respiratory system upon cigarette smoke inhalation. Typical cigarette smoke VNAs include N-nitrosdiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), both of which are classified as potent environmental carcinogens.
As of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's (IARC) 1986 report, these substances had not been classified as Human carcinogens due to lack of scientific research, however, on the basis of large amounts of research on laboratory animals indicating carcinogenicity it is generally felt that they should be regarded as carcinogenic to humans. In a 1968 study for instance, in which 36 Syrian Golden Hamsters were given a single dose of only 6 mg of NDEA, 29 suffered Tumours of the respiratory trace.
Studies of N-nitrosamines indicate that it is a metabolically activated carcinogen which disrupts DNA. The metabolic activation is brought about by the demethylating enzyme Cytochrome P-450 which requires NADPH and O2. The presence of alcohol seems to enhance N-nitrosamine metabolism to it's carcinogenic metabolite. This would appear to indicate that alcohol potentiates the effects of N-nitrosamines as carcinogens and would explain the observed increased incidence of cancer of the oral cavity and oesophagus in smokers who also drink large amounts of alcohol.
Aromatic Amines
Epidemiological studies of dye workers have documented that certain aromatic amines such as 2-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl are human bladder carcinogens. 2-naphthylamine is converted to an N-hydroxy derivative metabolic intermediate, which is capable of forming adducts with guanine in nucleic acids.
Trace Metals
While it is generally felt that the quantities of Cadmium, Nickel, Arsenic and Polonium-210 found in cigarette smoke do not significantly contribute to an increased risk of lung cancer or other smoking-related cancers, their role as potentiators or co-factors has not been researched to-date in any great detail.
These metals tend to accumulate in the body and could possibly act as promoters in conjunction with carcinogens in cigarette smoke. Cadmium for instance (several forms of which are suspected carcinogens) is only present at concentrations of 50-100 ng in cigarette smoke but it has been suggested that a heavy smoker will retain up to 1.5 g of it per day leading to a lifetime accumulation of 0.5 mg.
The importance of Arsenic as a toxic component of cigarette smoke has diminished following the removal of Arsenic containing compounds from the list if recommended pesticides in the US for the control of hornworms on tobacco. This has resulted in a large decrease in the amount of Arsenic in tobacco and consequently cigarette smoke. A review by the International Agency for Cancer (IARC) suggested that arsenic compounds could potentially act as human skin carcinogens.
Nickel, classified as a suspected human carcinogen (IARC, 1986) is present in concentrations up to 80 ng in cigarette smoke (MS). Nickel has been shown to induce sarcomas by subcutaneous injection in laboratory animals. Nickel Subsulphide (Ni3S2) has been shown to have even greater potency, inducing a high rate of renal carcinomas in rats after exposure to only a single 5 mg dose (Intravenally injected).
Polonium-210, a radioactive material that emits -particles, accumulates at a higher rate in the parenchyma and bronchial mucosa of smokers. Studies on Syrian Golden Hamsters using multiple intratracheal instillations of Polonium-210 have revealed a dose-response relationship with bronchocarcinomas and adenocarcinomas in the respiratory system.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)
The 1986 report by the US Surgeon General on Involuntary Smoking came to the following conclusions,
- Environmental Tobacco Smoke is a cause of disease including lung cancer in healthy non-smokers.
- Children exposed to ETS (due to the fact that one or both of their parents were smokers) have an increased frequency of respiratory infections, increased respiratory problems and a slightly reduced rate of increase in lung function as they develop.
- The separation of smokers and non-smokers in the same airspace may result in reductions, but does not eliminate exposure of non-smokers to ETS.
ETS, like cigarette smoke, is undoubtedly a causative agent for a number of human diseases including various cancers and diseases of the respiratory tract aswell as middle ear infections in exposed children. Non-carcinogenic lung disease may be broken down into two major areas, disease of the lung airways (inflammation of the airways, increased bronchial mucus secretions,etc.) and disease of the lung parenchyma (alveolar tissue damage resulting in emphysema). Non-smokers exposed to ETS generally do not suffer from lung parenchyma disease unless they have a genetic predisposition to weakened lung tissue, however, disease of the lung airways can be induced by much smaller doses of cigarette smoke. With regard to Lung cancer, there is a tentative dose-response relationship which indicates that higher ETS exposure levels increases the risk of lung cancer but lower doses could also result in cancer.
Studies have been conducted on the effects of ETS on both children and adults. With regard to ETS, the main risk group is children and infants, particularly up to the age of 2 years.
Effects of ETS exposure on children
ETS exposure due to parental smoking, especially the mother's, contributes to 150,000 to 300,000 cases annually of lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia, bronchitis, and other infections) in infants and children under 18 months of age. ETS exposure is also associated with increased respiratory irritation (cough, phlegm production, and wheezing) and middle ear infections, as well as upper respiratory tract symptoms (sore throats and colds) in infants and children. Two other infant-specific conditions known to be linked to ETS exposure have been researched in recent times, these being middle ear infections (MEI) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
A report in May, 1995 entitled Passive Smoke Exposure and Otitis Media sought to clarify the link between ETS exposure in infants and occurrence of otitis media (middle ear infections). It concluded that a significant increase in MEI risk was caused by exposure to ETS with the threshold being a maternal smoking level of 20 or more cigarettes a day. The mechanisms by which MEI are brought about by ETS include increased general risk of infection in individuals exposed to ETS and increased mucus secretion and ciliostasis effects bringing about an accumulation of mucus and bacteria in the middle ear region.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a significant cause of death in infants aged from 1 month to a year and studies have established a conclusive link between it's occurrence and maternal smoking. Increased maternal smoking which results in increased ETS exposure to infants leads to a higher risk of SIDS independently of other confounding risk factors including low birth weight and low gestational age (both of which, incidentally are associated with maternal active smoking during pregnancy).
Effects of ETS exposure on adults
Estimates that ETS exposure causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually have been made. This is the primary area of risk associated with ETS exposure to adult non-smokers. The 1992 report by the EPA Respiratory Health Effects of Passive smoking: Lung Cancer and other Disorders classified ETS as a Group A carcinogen - a category reserved only for the most dangerous cancer-causing agents in humans. The risks of other cancers due to ETS exposure have not currently been evaluated in great detail at this stage but it seems likely that most cancers linked to cigarette smoking will be linked to ETS following suitable study. Other effects of ETS exposure in adults include chronic coughing, phlegm and wheezing; decreased pulmonary function (a 1980 report on 2100 adults found that the magnitude of the effects of ETS on pulmonary function was comparable to active smoking of 1 to 10 cigarettes per day) and bronchoconstriction.
Asthmatics appear to have a heightened sensitivity to ETS exposure, with studies showing 25% decreased lung function in asthmatics exposed in the laboratory to levels of ETS that had no effect on smokers.
Conclusions
Cigarette smoke appears to be one the main, preventable causes of disease in the modern world and it seems likely that conventional cigarette smoking will become increasingly restricted as public awareness of the effects of ETS increases and other dangers of smoking become more apparent. Cigarette smoking as a habit is also threatened by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which is currently contemplating reclassification of cigarettes as a drug delivery device, this would inevitably result in much tighter controls on cigarette sales. Environmental Tobacco Smoke exposure presents a definite health risk, particularly to young infants and high-risk groups (including groups with genetic predispositions to ETS exposure risk and workers dealing with materials such as asbestos which appears to potentiate the effects of carcinogens in cigarette smoke) and it is the responsibility of smokers to ensure that they do not provide unnecessary health hazards to non-smokers. It has so far been impossible to define a threshold level below which ETS or direct cigarette smoker exposure can be deemed safe and free from risks since it the whole concept of whether a carcinogen can possibly have a safe threshold level is currently under debate.
References:
- The Medical Effects of Tobacco Consumption, Scientific American. May 1995
- Harrisons' Principles of Internal Medicine, 10th Ed. Petersdorf, Adams, Braunwald Isselbacher, Martin and Wilson. Chap 244:1302-1305
- The Health Consequences of Smoking - Cancer, a report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, 1982.
- The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking, a report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, 1986.
- Organic Chemistry, 2nd Ed.. Ege, S. Published by D.C. Heath and Co.
- Biochemistry, Voet, D., Voet, J. G.. Published by Wiley
- National Cancer Institute World-Wide-Web site
Are Light Cigarettes Better for You?
Do They Reduce The Health Risks of Smoking?
Many smokers choose "low-tar," "mild," or "light" cigarettes because they think that light cigarettes may be less harmful to their health than "regular" or "full-flavor" cigarettes.
After all, the smoke from light cigarettes feels smoother and lighter on the throat and chest - so lights must be healthier than regulars, right? Wrong.
The truth is that light cigarettes do not reduce the health risks of smoking. The only way to reduce your risk, and the risk to others around you, is to stop smoking completely.
After all, the smoke from light cigarettes feels smoother and lighter on the throat and chest - so lights must be healthier than regulars, right? Wrong.
The truth is that light cigarettes do not reduce the health risks of smoking. The only way to reduce your risk, and the risk to others around you, is to stop smoking completely.
What about the lower tar and nicotine numbers on light cigarette packs and in ads for lights?
- These numbers come from smoking machines that "smoke" every brand of cigarettes exactly the same way.
- These numbers do not really tell how much tar and nicotine a particular smoker may get because people do not smoke cigarettes in the same way the machines do. And no two people smoke the same way.
- Tobacco companies designed light cigarettes with tiny pinholes on the filters. These "filter vents" dilute cigarette smoke with air when light cigarettes are "puffed" on by smoking machines, causing the machines to measure artificially low tar and nicotine levels.
- Many smokers do not know that their cigarette filters have vent holes. The filter vents are uncovered when cigarettes are smoked on smoking machines. However, without realizing it and because they cannot avoid it, many smokers block the tiny vent holes with their fingers or lips - which basically turns the light cigarette into a regular cigarette.
- Because people, unlike machines, crave nicotine, they may inhale more deeply; take larger, more rapid, or more frequent puffs; or smoke a few extra cigarettes each day to get enough nicotine to satisfy their craving. This is called "compensating," and it means that smokers end up inhaling more tar, nicotine, and other harmful chemicals than the machine-based numbers suggest.
- Cigarette makers can also make the paper wrapped around the tobacco of light cigarettes burn faster so that the smoking machines get in few puffs before the cigarettes burn down. The result is that the machine measures less tar and nicotine in the smoke of the cigarette.
- The Federal Government's National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently concluded that light cigarettes provide no benefit to smokers' health.*
- According to the NCI report, people who switch to light cigarettes from regular cigarettes are likely to inhale the same amount of hazardous chemicals, and they remain at high risk for developing smoking-related cancers and other diseases.
- There is also no evidence that switching to light or ultra-light cigarettes actually helps smokers quit.
- The tobacco industry's own documents show that companies were well aware that smokers of light cigarettes compensate by taking bigger puffs.
- Industry documents also show that the companies were aware early on of the difference between machine-measured yields of tar and nicotine and what the smoker actually inhales.
- The NCI report concluded that strategies used by the tobacco industry to advertise and promote light cigarettes were intended to reassure smokers and to prevent them from quitting, and to lead consumers to perceive filtered and light cigarettes as safer alternatives to regular cigarettes.
- There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. The only proven way to reduce your risk of smoking related disease is to quit smoking completely.
- Here's good news: Smokers who quit before age 50 cut their risk of dying in half over the next 15 years compared with people who keep smoking.
- Quitting also decreases your risk of lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and chronic lung disease.
Cancer Statistics
Smoking and Cancer
When people think of cancers caused by smoking, the first one that comes to mind is always lung cancer. Most cases of lung cancer death, close to 90% in men, and 80% in women are caused by cigarette smoking. There are several other forms of cancer attributed to smoking as well, and they include cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, bladder, stomach, cervix, kidney and pancreas, and acute myeloid leukemia. The list of additives allowed in the manufacture of cigarettes consists of 599 possible ingredients. When burned, cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, with over 40 of them being known carcinogens.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.
- Cancer is the second leading cause of death and was among the first diseases causally linked to smoking.
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, and cigarette smoking causes most cases.
- Compared to nonsmokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer and women who smoke are about 13 times more likely. Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% in women.
- In 2003, an estimated 171,900 new cases of lung cancer occurred and approximately 157,200 people died from lung cancer.
- The 2004 Surgeon General's report adds more evidence to previous conclusions that smoking causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, lung and bladder.
- Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.
- Cigarette smoking is a major cause of esophageal cancer in the United States. Reductions in smoking and smokeless tobacco use could prevent many of the approximately 12,300 new cases and 12,100 deaths from esophgeal cancer that occur annually.
- The combination of smoking and alcohol consumption causes most laryngeal cancer cases. In 2003, an estimated 3800 deaths occurred from laryngeal cancer.
- In 2003, an estimated 57,400 new cases of bladder cancer were diagnosed and an estimated 12,500 died from the disease.
- For smoking-attributable cancers, the risk generally increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the number of years of smoking, and generally decreases after quitting completely.
- Smoking cigarettes that have a lower yield of tar does not substantially reduce the risk for lung cancer.
- Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing mouth cancers. This risk also increases among people who smoke pipes and cigars.
- Reductions in the number of people who smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and other tobacco products or use smokeless tobacco could prevent most of the estimated 30,200 new cases and 7,800 deaths from oral cavity and pharynx cancers annually in the United States.
- The 2004 Surgeon General's report newly identifies other cancers caused by smoking, including cancers of the stomach, cervix, kidney, and pancreas and acute myeloid leukemia.
- In 2003, an estimated 22,400 new cases of stomach cancer were diagnosed, and an estimated 12,100 deaths were expected to occur.
- Former smokers have lower rates of stomach cancer than those who continue to smoke.
- For women, the risk of cervical cancer increases with the duration of smoking.
- In 2003, an estimated 31,900 new cases of kidney cancer were diagnosed, and an estimated 11,900 people died from the disease.
- In 2003, an estimated 30,700 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed, attributing to 30,000 deaths. The median time from diagnosis to death from pancreatic cancer is about 3 months.
- In 2003, approximately 10,500 cases of acute myeloid leukemia were diagnosed in adults.
- Benzene is a known cause of acute myleoid leukemia, and cigarette smoke is a major source of benzene exposure. Among U.S. smokers, 90% of benzene exposures come from cigarettes.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.
10 Things to Avoid When You Quit Smoking
Impatience
We all want this quit to be the quit -- the one that lasts us a lifetime. We're looking for permanent freedom from nicotine addiction when we stub out the last cigarette, signaling the beginning of smoking cessation -- even though most of us doubt our ability to succeed for the long-term. However, with some education about what to expect when we quit smoking and a few tools to help us along, we can all find the freedom we dream so much of -- a life that no longer includes even the slightest thought of smoking or the smallest twinge of desire for a cigarette.
Misconceptions about the nature of addiction and the process of quitting tobacco can set smokers who are trying to quit up for failure. Build a strong quit program by educating yourself about the process of recovery from nicotine addiction.
Learning about common pitfalls puts you in the best position to avoid them and finally become smoke-free.
Impatience
It is a natural tendency to quit smoking and expect to be over it within a month. That would be nice (very nice!), but it doesn't work that way.
Smoking cessation is a process, not an event.
When we quit smoking, we're letting go of a habit that most of us have carried for many years, if not all of our adult lives. It's only fair to expect that breaking down the old associations that tied us to smoking and replacing them with new, healthier habits will take some time. Sit back, relax, and think of time as one of your best quit buddies. The more of it you put between you and that last cigarette you smoked, the stronger you'll become. Have patience with yourself, and with the process.
Worrying About the Future
Nicotine withdrawal plays mind games with us early on in smoking cessation. We think about smoking all of the time, and we worry that we'll always miss our cigarettes. It's called "junkie thinking," and we all go through a certain amount of it as we recover from nicotine addiction. For the new quitter, it can be paralyzing to think about never lighting another cigarette. Thoughts like this, if left unchecked, can easily lead to a smoking relapse.
If you find yourself feeling panicked about your smoke-free future, pull out of it by focusing your attention only on the day you have in front of you. It takes practice and patience to stay in the here and now, but it can be done, and it is a great way to maintain control over your quit program. It is the truth that today is where your power to affect change in your life is, and always will be. You can't do a thing about what happened yesterday, or about what is yet to come tomorrow, but you sure can control today.
It wasn't until I quit smoking that I learned how to truly be present in my life. It was a valuable tool for my journey through smoking cessation, and I consider it to be a lasting benefit I've carried forward with me out of the recovery process.
We all spend so much time living in the past or the future, while the present moments of today go by unnoticed. The next time your mind wanders ahead or back, consciously pull yourself out of it by narrowing your attention to the moments you're living right now.
Negativity
It's been said that the average person has approximately 66,000 thoughts on any given day, and that two-thirds of them are negative. It will probably come as no surprise that we aim many of those negative thoughts directly at ourselves. Face it, we're almost always our own worst critics.
Start paying attention to your thoughts, and banish those that don't serve your best interests. Be kind to yourself and stop lamenting the things you can't change, such as the years you spent smoking. Look at past quit attempts not as failures, but as experiences you can learn from. Think about all of the positive changes you're creating in your life by quitting tobacco now, and remember to use the value of today to your advantage.
Successful long-term cessation always starts with our thoughts. Keep your eyes on the prize and develop an attitude of gratitude. We have a way of believing what we tell ourselves over and over, so don't feed yourself negatives. Affirm the changes you are working to create in your life, and action will follow more easily.
Neglecting Yourself
Early smoking cessation is a time when you should be taking extra care to make sure all of your physical needs are met. The following list of tips will help you weather nicotine withdrawal more comfortably:
- Eat a well-balanced diet
Your body needs good quality fuel now as it works to flush the toxins from cigarettes out of your system.
- Get more rest
Chances are, nicotine withdrawal will leave you feeling fatigued for a few weeks. If you're tired, don't fight it. Sleep more if you can.
- Drink water
Water is a great quit aid. It helps you detox more quickly, works well as a craving-buster, and by keeping yourself hydrated, you'll feel better overall.
- Exercise daily
Exercise benefits both physical and mental health, and it's another good way to manage cravings to smoke. Walking is a low-impact aerobic workout that is a good choice for those of us leading inactive lives. Be sure to check in with your doctor before starting a new exercise regimen.
- Take a daily multi-vitamin
Cigarettes deplete our bodies of many nutrients, so give yourself the boost that a good multi-vitamin provides for the first few months of smoking cessation. It may help you regain your energy more quickly.
Taking care of your body, especially as you move through early cessation, will help you minimize the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal. And remember, while nicotine withdrawal may not be a pain-free experience, it is a temporary phase of recovery that we all have to go through to get through.
Drinking Alcohol
"I" probably don't need to tell you that alcohol and tobacco go hand-in-hand. New quitters are tender. Putting yourself into a social setting where you're tempted to drink alcohol too soon after quitting can be dangerous. Don't rush it. The time will come when you can have a drink without it triggering the urge to smoke, but don't expect that to be within the first month, or perhaps even the first few months.
We're all a little different in how we move through the process of kicking nicotine addiction, so relax any preconceived notions you might have about how long recovery should take. Instead, focus on your own situation. If there is an engagement coming up that involves alcohol and you feel nervous about that, take it as a signal to proceed with caution. Consider postponing until you're feeling stronger. And if that's not an option, work out a plan ahead of time for how you'll manage the event smoke-free.
It's no exaggeration that you are working hard to save your life by quitting smoking, so give cessation the attention it deserves. Keep your quit program in the top slot of your list of priorities for as long as it takes. You should do whatever you need to do to maintain your smobriety.
Definition:
Smober is a term that has been put together loosely from two others: smoke free and sober. As a person who is not drinking is sober, a person who is abstaining from smoking is considered smober.
Smober is a term that has been put together loosely from two others: smoke free and sober. As a person who is not drinking is sober, a person who is abstaining from smoking is considered smober.
Overdoing It
We've talked about taking care not to neglect our physical health while going through nicotine withdrawal, but our emotional well-being is every bit as important. Stress and anger are probably the two biggest smoking triggers we face, and they can build up and threaten our quit programs if we're not careful. Early cessation creates its own tension, and that can be overwhelming when paired with the stresses of daily life -- if you let it.
Don't let yourself get run down to the point of exhaustion, and take time every single day to relieve stress with an activity that you enjoy. Whether it's time alone with a good book, a hot bath, or working on a hobby, think of this as insurance for your quit program, not as time spent selfishly. When you're well-rested and calm, you are much better equipped to meet the daily challenges smoking cessation presents, so spoil yourself a little each day.
Taking Yourself Too Seriously
You will have bad days. Expect and accept that. Such is smoking cessation, and such is life. On those off days, vow to put yourself in "ignore mode." In other words, don't focus on the negative atmosphere of your thoughts. Instead, do what you can to distract and ignore your bad mood. Sometimes the best thing we can do is get out of our own way. Our minds can make small issues big and create drama out of every little thing when our moods are out of whack.
When you have a bad day, use it as an excuse to pamper yourself a little. If all else fails, call it a day earlier than usual and go to bed. Nine times out of ten you'll wake up feeling 100% better the next day, and when you do, you'll be grateful to still be smoke-free.
Being Hesitant to Ask for Help
Statistics show that people who quit smoking with a healthy support system in place have a much higher rate of long-term success with smoking cessation. In addition to the support you might receive from friends and family, consider adding some online support to your quit program. The smoking cessation forum offers some of the best support the Internet has to offer. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who know exactly what you are going through is worth its weight in gold.
Thinking You Can Smoke "Just One" Cigarette
When it comes to smoking cessation, there is no such thing as just one cigarette. They travel in packs.
Many a good quit program has been lost to thoughts of being able to control our smoking habits. Don't fall for it. The only way to keep the beast at bay is to keep nicotine out of your system. If you decide to go ahead and smoke just one cigarette, or for just one night, chances are you'll be back to the slavery that nicotine addiction is in short order. You may even find yourself smoking more than you used to.
Just as success with smoking cessation begins in the mind, so does a smoking relapse. Always. If unhealthy thoughts of smoking come up, and you can't shake them, it's time to renew your resolve.
Forgetting Why You Wanted to Quit
You quit smoking for a reason. Probably several. Don't let time and distance from the habit cloud your thinking. Keep your memory green by reviewing your reasons for quitting often. They will never be less true as time goes by, but they can feel less urgent if you're not careful.
Smoking cessation is a journey. Take it one simple day at a time, and you'll find that what started out as a difficult task soon enough becomes an enjoyable challenge.
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| kick the habit |
I Quit Smoking Because...
Making that decision to finally put down the cigarettes and call a halt to smoking is, for most people, the result of something dramatic - either an event or emotional angst. It's the final straw that makes us say "No More!"
Chemicals in Cigarettes: What They Are and How They Harm Us
Harmful Chemicals in Cigarettes
As smokers, we don't think about the chemicals in cigarettes. We think about how cigarettes help us cope with the stress of daily life, how they calm us down when we're angry, help us relax at the end of a long day, comfort us when we're sad or lonely. Harmful chemicals in cigarettes? No, we don't think much about that.
The truth of the matter is that smoking does the opposite of just about everything we give it credit for. When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending literally thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens coursing through our bloodstream with every puff we take. And those chemicals affect everything from blood pressure andpulse rate to the health of our organs and immune system.
While researchers are still working to uncover all of the hazards cigarettes present to human life, we do know that air tainted with cigarette smoke is dangerous for anyone who breathes it -- smoker or not.
Let's take a closer look at some of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes and how they affect our health.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Carcinogens
A carcinogen is defined as any substance that can cause or aggravate cancer. Approximately 60 of the chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause cancer.
TSNAs
Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs) are known to be some of the most potent carcinogens present in smokeless tobacco, snuff and tobacco smoke.
Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs) are known to be some of the most potent carcinogens present in smokeless tobacco, snuff and tobacco smoke.
Benzene
Benzene can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.
Benzene can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.
Pesticides
Pesticides are used on our lawns and gardens, and inhaled into our lungs via cigarette smoke.
Pesticides are used on our lawns and gardens, and inhaled into our lungs via cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, and is responsible for some of the nose, throat and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde is a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, and is responsible for some of the nose, throat and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Toxic Metals
Toxic / heavy metals are metals and metal compounds that have the potential to harm our health when absorbed or inhaled. In very small amounts, some of these metals support life, but when taken in large amounts, can become toxic.
Arsenic
Commonly used in rat poison, arsenic finds its way into cigarette smoke through some of the pesticides that are used in tobacco farming.
Commonly used in rat poison, arsenic finds its way into cigarette smoke through some of the pesticides that are used in tobacco farming.
Cadmium
Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that is used in batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.
Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that is used in batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Radioactive Toxic Metals
There are a couple of toxic metals in cigarette smoke that carry an extra punch of danger for anyone breathing it in: they are radioactive.
Radioactive Cigarette smoke
Lead-210 (Pb-210) and polonium-210 (Po-210) are poisonous, radioactive heavy metals that research has shown to be present in cigarette smoke.
Chemicals in Cigarettes: Poisons
Poison is defined as any substance that, when introduced to a living organism, causes severe physical distress or death. Science has discovered approximately 200 poisonous gases in cigarette smoke.
Ammonia
Ammonia compounds are commonly used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Ammonia is also used to boost the impact of nicotine in manufactured cigarettes.
Ammonia compounds are commonly used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Ammonia is also used to boost the impact of nicotine in manufactured cigarettes.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is present in car exhaust and is lethal in very large amounts. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is present in car exhaust and is lethal in very large amounts. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide.
Hydrogen Cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II. It can be found in cigarette smoke.
Hydrogen cyanide was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II. It can be found in cigarette smoke.
Nicotine
Nicotine is a poison used in pesticides and is the addictive element in cigarettes.
Nicotine is a poison used in pesticides and is the addictive element in cigarettes.
A Word About Secondhand Smoke
Also known as environmental tobacco smoke, secondhand smoke is a term used to describe cigarette smoke that comes from two sources: Smoke that is exhaled by the smoker (mainstream smoke) and smoke produced by a smouldering cigarette (sidestream smoke). Secondhand smoke is known to contain at least 250 toxic chemicals, including 50 cancer-causing chemicals. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. That means if you can smell cigarette smoke in the air, it could be harming your health.If you smoke...
...use the tools below to help you get started on your smoke-free journey. There is no time like the present to stop the madness that cigarette smoking is. You'll be rewarded with benefits beyond what you can probably imagine and they'll start to occur faster than you think. Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette, your body will begin to heal and improvements to your mental and physical health will continue to grow with time invested in smoking cessation.
It is never too late to quit smoking!
