What Are You Smoking?
Do you remember that expression? It was often used to invalidate someone’s contradictory statement or opinion! 😊
But today I mean it in the literal sense… What is in that Cigarette you are smoking?
Did you know there are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes? But it gets worse when burned, cigarettes create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 68 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are toxic.
I just saw an article that gave a listing of some of the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke.
Take a look at these:
Many of these chemicals also are found in consumer products, but these products have warning labels—such as rat poison packaging. While the public is warned about the danger of the poisons in these products, there is no such warning for the toxins in tobacco smoke.
In addition to the carcinogenic TAR, which is the partially combusted particulate matter made by the burning of tobacco, here are a few of the chemicals in tobacco smoke and some other places they are found:
- Acetone—found in nail polish remover
- Acetic acid—an ingredient in hair dye
- Ammonia—a common household cleaner
- Arsenic—used in rat poison
- Benzene—found in rubber cement and gasoline
- Butane—used in lighter fluid
- Cadmium—active component in battery acid
- Carbon monoxide—released in car exhaust fumes
- Formaldehyde—embalming fluid
- Hexamine—found in barbecue lighter fluid
- Lead—used in batteries
- Naphthalene—an ingredient in mothballs
- Methanol—a main component in rocket fuel
- Nicotine—used as an insecticide
- Toluene—used to manufacture paint
Are smoking eCigarettes any better?
Well in fact, they are. Even the CDC which is not what you would call a fan of eCigarettes or vaping posted this on their website.
“E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.
E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.
While e-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people and harm others, scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking."
Bottom Line
So, the bottom line is if you don’t smoke now - don’t start. If you smoke cigarettes now - switching over to eCigarettes is the better health option and could even help you quit if that is your goal.
The Smokeless eCigs have a step-down program where you can gradually reduce the amount of nicotine with each cigarette through 5 different levels. At the point you hit 0 nicotine smoking is more of a habit than an addiction and far easier to quit.
