Cigarettes: An In-depth Analysis

There are advertisements for cigarettes everywhere: in magazines, on television, on the radio, on billboards, and even online. Despite the abundance of advertisements for various brands of cigarettes, smoking is not a very healthy habit to begin. In fact, according to the American Heart Associations, smokers are at higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. If you knew exactly how many potentially dangerous additives were present in cigarettes, you would understand why they can cause heart attacks and strokes in addition to cancer.

Additive # 1 - Ammonium Hydroxide - this chemical is equivalent to the ammonia that many people use to clean with. Have you ever taken a whiff of ammonia and nearly passed out? Imagine how inhaling this chemical while smoking is damaging your body.

Additive # 2 - Benzoic Acid - Derived from benzene, this popular preservative that is present in a large number of foods and drinks has been known to cause cancer. Constantly breathing in smoke containing this and other chemicals is not good.

Additive # 3 - Benzyl Alcohol - this colorless, clear liquid is used as a general solvent in inks, lacquers, paints and also as a degreasing agent for cleaning kitchens. This is definitely not something that you want to put into your body if you value your life and your health.

Additive # 4 - Ethyl 10-Undecenoate - Although this chemical has been approved by the FDA as a flavoring agent for foods, there have been no studies conducted on the risk of burning this particular agent, which is possibly harmful.

Additive # 5 - Acetone - Have you or someone you know every used fingernail polish remover to take off nail polish? Acetone is what is used to remove nail polish and even strip paint walls. Why this chemical is present in cigarettes is a mystery, but if you ever needed a good reason to quit smoking, this is definitely a good one.

Additive # 6 - Arsenic - Who would have ever guessed that cigarettes contain traces of arsenic, a popular rat poison? Unless you're trying to poison yourself, you'll want to throw your cigarettes in the trash immediately.

Additive # 7 - Carbon Minoxide - Everyone knows that the exhausts of cars and other vehicles release carbon monoxide , a dangerous chemical into the air, but to put this chemical in cigarettes is absolutely insane!

There are many more potentially harmful additives present in cigarettes, too many to list in a single article, or even two or three. If you're at all concerned about your health, you'll try your best to stop this deadly habit. If you'd like to quit smoking but are having a difficult time, there are many helpful products available that you may want to discuss with your doctor. You should also remember that with ingredients like those that are present in cigarettes, simply inhaling someone else's cigarette smoke is just like smoking yourself, so secondhand smoke can be just as deadly as smoking a cigarette yourself.

References

American Heart Association - smoking information page -
www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml

Online encyclopedia Benzoic acid - science.jrank.org/pages/825/Benzoic-Acid.html

Ethyl 10-Undecenoate information page -

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/om0201516

North Carolina stop smoking page - www.stepupnc.com/know/ingredients.shtm