There are more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. Here are just some of them:
- Nicotine – keeps you addicted
- Carbon monoxide – takes up room in your lungs which should be filled with oxygen. Because your body needs oxygen, the heart has to work harder. This can cause coronary heart disease and circulation problems
- Tar – about 70 per cent of the tar in cigarette smoke is left in the lungs where it causes serious lung diseases
- Acetone – used as a solvent (for example in nail polish remover)
- Cadmium – a highly poisonous metal used in batteries
- Arsenic – a deadly poison used in insecticides
- Formaldehyde – used to preserve dead bodies
- Shellac – becomes a varnish for wood when mixed with a form of alcohol
- Benzene – used as a solvent in fuel and chemical manufacturing
- Cyanide – a deadly poison