Smoking - Facts Of Life

• Tobacco is responsible for 90% of all cases of lung cancer.
  In 1994 37,148 people died of lung cancer; 34,000 of these deaths were caused by smoking.

• Tobacco is also a significant cause of nine other forms of cancer.
  Smoking can cause cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, stomach, intestine, pancreas, bladder and cervix.

• The are 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke - 60 of which can cause cancer.
  The following are just a few chemicals found in cigarette smoke in a survey conducted by Colors - Benetton magazine:
  • Ammonia
    Used for flavouring and to quicken the release of nicotine from the tobacco.
  • Shellac
    Found in wood varnish.
  • Naphthalene
    A volatile gas.
  • Phosphorous
    Found in many house-hold products including rat poison.
  • Xylene
    A substance banned from marker-pens after it was shown to cause cancer.
  • Cadmium
    Toxic in high quantities, tobacco picks up traces of cadmium metal as it grows in the ground. It is also used in batteries.
  • Arsenic
    Common-known poison.
  • Propylene glycol
    Helps to blend the tobacco with the other substances and deliver the nicotine to the brain.
  • Acetone
    Found in nail-varnish remover.
  • Butane
    To help make the cigarette burn. Also found in lighter fluid.
  • Bleached beeswax
    Beeswax is used in floor polish.
  • Turpentine
    A highly toxic gas.
  • Methoprene
    Found in flea-spray.
  • Formaldehyde
    Again, highly poisonous. Commonly used to preserve dead bodies.

©1998 Stephen Battey
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