A cigarette is a product consumed via smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves, which are combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder (generally less than 120 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter). The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder for the purpose of inhalation of its smoke from the other (usually filtered) end, which is usually inserted in the mouth. They are sometimes smoked with a cigarette holder. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette but can apply to similar devices containing other herbs, such as cannabis. They are colloquially known as "butts", "cigs", "ciggies", "cancer sticks", "coffin nails", "death sticks", "smokes", "bogies", and "fags".
Cigarettes are proven to be highly addictive, as well as a cause of multiple types of cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, circulatory disease and birth defects.[1][2]
A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its smaller size, use of processed leaf, and white paper wrapping. Cigars are typically composed entirely of whole-leaf tobacco.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, an addictive stimulant. They deliver smoke to the lungs immediately and produce a rapid psychoactive effect[citation needed]. This aspect of their use is both part of what makes them popular and what makes them highly addictive.
Nov 20, 2007
Have You Ever Wondered What's In a Cigarette?
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.
Nicotine is highly addictive. Smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, and the nicotine reaches your brain in just six seconds.
Nicotine in small doses acts as a stimulant to the brain. In large doses, it's a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. In even larger doses, it's a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm.
As a cigarette is smoked, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs.
Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs.
What's In Cigarette Smoke?
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.
Nicotine is highly addictive. Smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, and the nicotine reaches your brain in just six seconds.
Nicotine in small doses acts as a stimulant to the brain. In large doses, it's a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. In even larger doses, it's a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm.
As a cigarette is smoked, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs.
Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs.
Cigarette Maker Now Lists Ingredients
For the first time, an American tobacco company has begun listing long-secret ingredients contained in its cigarettes directly on the label. Yesterday, Liggett Group Inc. introduced cartons that the company plans to begin using that list the ingredients in its L&M cigarettes, including molasses, phenylacetic acid and the oil of the East Indian mint called patchouli. The move comes as the state of Massachusetts is trying to compel disclosure of all ingredients by all cigarette makers, an effort that other major tobacco companies are fighting.
Liggett, which broke with the industry by signing the first settlements ever with states and private attorneys suing it, supports the Massachusetts effort as well. "Liggett believes that its adult consumers have a right to full disclosure," Liggett head Bennett S. LeBow said in a statement. Along with blended tobacco and water, the 26-item L&M list includes high fructose corn syrup, sugar, natural and artificial licorice flavor, menthol, artificial milk chocolate and natural chocolate flavor, valerian root extract, molasses and vanilla extracts, and cedarwood oil. Less familiar additives include glycerol, propylene glycol, isovaleric acid, hexanoic acid and 3-methylpentanoic acid.
Some 600 ingredients are used in American cigarettes, but a Liggett spokesman said the L&M statement was a "quite exhaustive list" of every ingredient used in that brand.
Ingredients in tobacco products have never been proved harmful -- especially when compared with the many toxins found in tobacco smoke itself. But activists have long pushed for disclosure of the ingredients, in part because consumers tend to be more wary of risks imposed upon them by others than of the risks they knowingly choose.
The companies have provided lists of ingredients to the federal Department of Health and Human Services for more than a decade, but government officials are legally not allowed to release the information. The industry also presented a composite list of 599 additives to congressional investigators in 1994, but that was never officially made public.
David Remes, an attorney who represents the four other tobacco companies challenging the state of Massachusetts, said the case comes down to the industry's right to protect its trade secrets.
Nicotine is highly addictive. Smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, and the nicotine reaches your brain in just six seconds.
Nicotine in small doses acts as a stimulant to the brain. In large doses, it's a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. In even larger doses, it's a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm.
As a cigarette is smoked, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs.
Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs.
What's In Cigarette Smoke?
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.
Nicotine is highly addictive. Smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, and the nicotine reaches your brain in just six seconds.
Nicotine in small doses acts as a stimulant to the brain. In large doses, it's a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. In even larger doses, it's a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm.
As a cigarette is smoked, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs.
Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs.
Cigarette Maker Now Lists Ingredients
For the first time, an American tobacco company has begun listing long-secret ingredients contained in its cigarettes directly on the label. Yesterday, Liggett Group Inc. introduced cartons that the company plans to begin using that list the ingredients in its L&M cigarettes, including molasses, phenylacetic acid and the oil of the East Indian mint called patchouli. The move comes as the state of Massachusetts is trying to compel disclosure of all ingredients by all cigarette makers, an effort that other major tobacco companies are fighting.
Liggett, which broke with the industry by signing the first settlements ever with states and private attorneys suing it, supports the Massachusetts effort as well. "Liggett believes that its adult consumers have a right to full disclosure," Liggett head Bennett S. LeBow said in a statement. Along with blended tobacco and water, the 26-item L&M list includes high fructose corn syrup, sugar, natural and artificial licorice flavor, menthol, artificial milk chocolate and natural chocolate flavor, valerian root extract, molasses and vanilla extracts, and cedarwood oil. Less familiar additives include glycerol, propylene glycol, isovaleric acid, hexanoic acid and 3-methylpentanoic acid.
Some 600 ingredients are used in American cigarettes, but a Liggett spokesman said the L&M statement was a "quite exhaustive list" of every ingredient used in that brand.
Ingredients in tobacco products have never been proved harmful -- especially when compared with the many toxins found in tobacco smoke itself. But activists have long pushed for disclosure of the ingredients, in part because consumers tend to be more wary of risks imposed upon them by others than of the risks they knowingly choose.
The companies have provided lists of ingredients to the federal Department of Health and Human Services for more than a decade, but government officials are legally not allowed to release the information. The industry also presented a composite list of 599 additives to congressional investigators in 1994, but that was never officially made public.
David Remes, an attorney who represents the four other tobacco companies challenging the state of Massachusetts, said the case comes down to the industry's right to protect its trade secrets.
Smokin' Caused
Basic Information
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits for you and your loved ones.
Learn more about the harmful effects of smoking, smokeless tobacco, and secondhand smoke from the resources below and find out about resources that address prevention.
Make this the year you or someone close to you quits smoking.
Learn more about the harmful effects of smoking, smokeless tobacco, and secondhand smoke from the resources below and find out about resources that address prevention.
Make this the year you or someone close to you quits smoking.
Cigarette Smoking - The Risks and Effects
How Smoking Harms People of All Ages
There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of them 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.
There are approximately 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, many of them 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.
Quit Smoking Plan
Quit Tips
Are you one of most smokers who want to quit? Then try following this advice.
1. Don’t smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again.
Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to—
Feel in control of you life?
Have better health?
Set a good example for your children?
Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3. Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.
4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too. That’s the good news. There are millions of people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.
5. Get help if you need it. Many groups offer written materials, programs, and advice to help smokers quit for good. Your doctor or dentist is also a good source of help and support. See a list of National Groups with information and resources on how to quit.
Are you one of most smokers who want to quit? Then try following this advice.
1. Don’t smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again.
Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is so addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.
2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to—
Feel in control of you life?
Have better health?
Set a good example for your children?
Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.
3. Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.
4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too. That’s the good news. There are millions of people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.
5. Get help if you need it. Many groups offer written materials, programs, and advice to help smokers quit for good. Your doctor or dentist is also a good source of help and support. See a list of National Groups with information and resources on how to quit.
Oct 2, 2007
Pro Smoking (written by non-smoker)
Pro smoking
(Sound Advice on the Advantages of Smoking Tobacco)
Written by the Non-Smokers' Movement of Australia Inc, Box K860, Haymarket NSW 1240
If you work with explosives, you have a handy method of lighting the fuse.
You will always have something to do with your hands.
To avoid headaches later in the day, always have a cigarette first thing in the morning.
Smoking is a good career move if you want early retirement and would like to use up your sick leave.
On New Years Eve you don't have to go out to the fireworks. Just dip your cigarette into a jar of ground up sparklers.
Amuse your friends and be the life of the party by blowing smoke rings.
Always discard your butts in flower pots and garden beds as it helps fertilize the plants and keeps insects away.
Occasional house fires will help keep firemen employed.
By buying cigarettes from corner stores, you help support local businesses and help retain the fabric of our society.
At the beach, children can use the butts to decorate their sand castles.
Annoy neighbours you don't like by staying home and smoking heavily.
You will always have a good reason for loitering - "Officer, I'm just having a cigarette".
Always smoke when you are pregnant. Your smoking helps the unborn baby prepare for the air pollution in the real world.
When your neighbor’s kids are too noisy, trigger their asthma by breathing smoke on them.
By smoking heavily, you get out of boring work and will have plenty of short breaks during the day.
Develop your cool image and fun-loving personality by being a smoker. Non smoking is for wimps.
You will have a good reason to paint the ceilings every three years.
Why celebrate world no-tobacco day once a year, when every day can be celebrated as a pro-tobacco day.
You will know when it's time to throw out your old lounge suite by the number of burn marks.
Smoking is an adult custom. Add years to how old you look by smoking heavily.
If you run out of smokes late at night, help the taxi industry by getting them to deliver your smokes to the door.
You can demand more services and benefits from the government because you have paid more in taxes.
Help keep the bush fire brigades trained and ready for any emergency by throwing lighted butts from your car window.
Keep your weight down by smoking cigarettes instead of eating them.
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