SMOKING STATISTICS

Some Alarming Tobacco Statistics

Though cigarette smoking has decreased about 15 percentage points in the past three decades, over 20% of men and women in the United States still smoke. There are numerous smoking cessation plans available. But smokers may only need to look at these startling tobacco statistics to convince themselves to give up their cigarettes.

Every time a cigarette is inhaled, smokers are sending about four thousand poisonous, toxic metal and carcinogenic chemicals into their bodies. These pernicious substances can affect key bodily functions such as pulse rate and blood pressure as well as damage vital organs and the immune system. Following is a list of some of these harmful substances:

Carcinogenic Chemicals In Cigarettes

• Pesticides the same substances used to kill bugs in homes and on lawns.
• TSNAs (Tobacco-Specific N Nitrosamines) are some of the most harmful carcinogens on the planet.
• Benzene is used in pesticides and gasoline. Half of the benzene humans ingest comes from cigarette smoke.
• Formaldehyde is used to embalm dead bodies. It is the substance most frequently associated with eyes, nose and throat irritations with cigarette smokers.

Toxic Metal Chemicals Contained In Cigarettes

• Arsenic is used to kill rats and as a pesticide in tobacco farming
• Cadmium is a heavy metal used in batteries. Smokers usually have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as non-smokers

Poisonous Chemicals In Cigarettes

• Acetone is a fragrant and volatile liquid keytone used as a solvent (i.e. Nail Polish Remover)
• Ammonia is used in fertilizers and household cleaning products. It enhances the effects of nicotine in smokers.
• Carbon Monoxide is spewed from car exhaust pipes. High levels are present in cigarettes.
• Nicotine is used in pesticides and is addicting for smokers.
• Hydrogen Cyanide was used by Nazi Germans to kill Jewish people in gas chambers. Reverand Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple killed himself and over 900 people with it in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978.
• Tar is particulate matter that is drawn into the lungs when a cigarette is inhaled. About 70% of the residual tar is left behind in a smoker's lungs.

Other Cigarette Additives

• Aconitic Acid used in alcoholic drinks, chewing gum and baked goods
• Ambergris Tincture a fatty, waxy substance that forms in the intestines of sperm whales. Also known as "Whale Vomit."

There are many more but these tobacco statistics alone should be alarming enough to the cigarette smoker.