Have smokers ever thought about what a cigarette consists of? They absorb them in dozens every day, but they hardly pay attention to the small prints that are present on the bundle.
Social excursion
People start smoking for various reasons: stress, loneliness, the desire to join a new team, the desire to “grow up”, the attempt to clean their brains, etc. Few people know what modern cigarettes are made of, why their cost is low and the retail price is high where and how they are produced. Satisfaction of a momentary whim can end in addiction for life. Social advertising everywhere urges to abandon addiction, shows blackened lungs and people dying of incurable diseases, but does not succeed in their endeavors.
Each cigarette smoked is a “shot” into its own body with a poisonous dart, the effect of which is invisible until a certain point. When the amount of poison becomes critical, this time bomb starts to work, killing us.
So what is a cigarette made of? A sectional photo of this product can well demonstrate its “insides”. But what you see (tobacco, filter, paper) - only at first glance it seems relatively harmless. And if you dig deeper?
Structure
A regular cigarette consists of tobacco and by-products, tissue paper and a filter. Until they set it on fire, it is not dangerous, and it looks pretty attractive. Manufacturers made sure that the presence of a small cylinder in their hands looked fashionable, cool, with a challenge. Burning the filling, we inhale the resulting hot smoke along with all the additional substances into our lungs. An active smoker absorbs up to 30% of all smoke from a smoked cigarette. The percentage depends on the presence or absence of a filter, the quality of tobacco, the method of smoking. The remaining 70% is received by surrounding people - passive smokers and hostages of your habit.
They probably know what the cigarette consists of, and have repeatedly told you about it, but what are the words as opposed to the desire to get a portion of fresh nicotine?
Smoke composition
No matter how strange it sounds, smoke is not only gas, but also solid particles that settle in the lungs. In addition to the poisonous effect, they also irritate the bronchial mucosa, causing frequent inflammatory or allergic reactions.
Gas part
The main part of sigater smoke is gas, or rather a mixture of gases. All of them are poisonous enough to harm alone, and together they represent a truly nuclear combination:
- carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide;
- acrolein;
- acetaldehyde;
- ammonium;
- acetone;
- nitrobenzene;
- isoprene;
- hydrogen sulfide.
Solid particles
A small but tangible fraction of particulate matter is necessarily present in the smoke. Particles settle on the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, irritate it, causing inflammation. These are the following substances:
- nicotine;
- water;
- resin (tar) containing aromatic carbohydrates, phenols, cresols, naphthalenes.
In addition, there is also silicon, calcium, titanium, strontium, thallium, polonium related to radioactive elements.
Next, we will examine each of them in more detail so that you have an idea of what enters your body with each breath of tobacco smoke, and understand what cigarettes are actually made of.
List of "killer" substances
1. Acetaldehyde - when it enters the bloodstream, it oxidizes to acetic acid, causes gene mutations in the fetus, affects hormonal metabolism, the production of prostaglandins and leukotrienes, and has a destructive effect on the nervous system. Contained in alcoholic products too.
2. Acetone - a volatile solvent, a toxic substance that causes drug intoxication. It accumulates in the body, causing chronic oxygen starvation, poisoning the liver and spleen.
3. Benzene - a poisonous substance with a specific sweetish odor, used in the oil refining industry for the production of paints, rubber, plastics, gasoline. In large doses, poisoning is manifested by nausea, vomiting, dizziness. Therefore, inexperienced smokers can feel bad even from one puff. Its increased content in the blood inhibits all sprouts of blood formation, causing cancerous bone marrow degeneration.
4. DDT - a pesticide used to control insect pests (used as a chemical weapon during the Vietnam War). It is forbidden to use in agriculture since the 80s of the last century.
5. Indole - an aromatic carbohydrate, has a specific pungent odor, has an exciting effect on the nervous system, and causes hallucinations. Component LSD-25.
6. Cadmium - refers to heavy metals. Used in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries and batteries. It accumulates in the kidneys with constant contact, affects the mineral composition of bones, their density.
7. Heavy metals - are trigger factors in the development of cancer. Their content in tobacco leaves depends on the conditions of growth and collection of raw materials, the use of insecticides, herbicides and other agricultural chemicals.
8. Manganese - accumulating in the tissues of the body, provokes degenerative changes in the nervous system, causes parkinsonism phenomena (characteristic symptoms of Parkinson's disease caused by other reasons).
9. Methanol is one of the components of rocket fuel. Extremely toxic to humans, as it oxidizes to formaldehydes, which have a negative effect on the liver, kidneys and nervous system. In small doses leads to blindness, a lethal outcome is possible.
10. Nicotine is the strongest poison. Symptoms of poisoning: headache, dizziness, vomiting. Addictive with a negligible dose.
11. Radioactive components - radium, thorium, polonium, lead, bismuth, cesium. Filters that are installed in cigarettes do not trap radioactive particles. Accumulating in the lungs, they permanently irradiate the body, causing cell mutations and, as a result, oncological diseases.
12. Mercury, lead - refers to heavy metals. Negatively affect the nervous system, are deposited in the kidneys, muscles, bones. Of the symptoms distinguish: fatigue, decreased attention, aggressiveness, metallic taste in the mouth, abdominal pain, vision problems.
This is only a fraction of the substances that enter the body of a
smoker every day
. The answer to the question: “What is a cigarette made of?”, Most likely, will not convince heavy smokers, but it can help those who are just starting to acquire this addiction.
Cigarette making
How and what are cigarettes actually made of? The photos below illustrate several stages of a complex process.
The first stage is the selection and combination of different varieties of tobacco to obtain the necessary taste and smell. Each individual variety is not suitable for smoking.
The second stage is mixing different varieties in a pneumatic drum. At this point, aromatic components can be added to the plants.
The third stage is the manufacture of tobacco fiber (cutting sheets).
The fourth stage is the removal of debris and dust.
The fifth stage is cooling and drying the finished mixture. The so-called "aging" of tobacco. It lasts up to two years, depending on the desired result.
Types of Tobacco Products
- Cigarettes. Cigarette paper, 2/3 filled with tobacco and rolled into a cylinder. Mouthpiece paper, used as a filter, is worn on top.
- Cigarettes Tobacco tourniquet, sealed and wrapped in paper, with a glued seam. May have a filter or be sold without it.
- Cigars. Hand-rolled tobacco sheets of a special selection. Produced in Havana. They undergo a thorough check of product quality.
- Smoking and pipe tobacco
- Smoking and smelling shag
What modern cigarettes consist of cannot be called tobacco, because its mass fraction is very small. Synthetic substitutes that reproduce the taste and smell of nicotine have already been found. Surrogates of already harmful products. And all in order to reduce the cost of production and increase the fortune of the owners of tobacco companies.
What is a cigarette made of? Do I need to know this to stop smoking? Or is it enough that even in its pure form, nicotine is a strong poison? Of course, you decide.