In the history of smoking, the purpose of smoking was to release a recreational drug called nicotine to be absorbed by lungs. I think, still they smoke for the same purpose or else why?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified that the environmental tobacco smoke as a Group A carcinogen. This means that there is more than enough evidence to prove that tobacco smoke, whether it is inhaled by the smoker or the non-smoker, can cause cancer in humans.
Mainstream and side stream smoke; both contain a huge number of toxic, poisonous and carcinogenic substances. Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. It can lead to cancer, breathing problems and heart disease.
How many dangerous chemicals are in cigarettes?
I am sure many people are unaware of the fact that there are more than 4250 different chemicals in cigarettes and the smoke contains a cocktail of drugs and poisons which are very harmful even to unborn babies. Apart from other hazards, nicotine is an appetite suppressant. It reaches the brain in a matter of six seconds. Therefore, the more you smoke the less hungry you feel and the less you are likely to eat. It gradually destroys the taste buds and you have no taste of food, feel bland.
Smoking and unborn children
The combined effects of nicotine, (the main drug in tobacco) and other gases which enter the lungs when smoked, greatly increases the chance of disease and ill-health. Tobacco is a stimulant drug giving smokers a ‘lift’. Since these discoveries cigarette advertising in sports events such as in formula one racing, football, golf and rugby, gradually came to a halt and cigarette business also went down. In the past, smoking was allowed in cinemas, theatres and in any other social clubs such as in public houses where they gather to drink beer and other alcohols. Again research found that smoking has been directly linked to lung cancer, heart disease and other major illnesses, as well being dangerous during pregnancy for the mother and unborn child, with all these findings sadly some people still smoke.
According to British heart foundation, smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease and smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack as people who have never smoked.
Even disable and old people happily smoke, why?
You may be a non-smoker but when other people smoke or due to secondary smoking or passive smoking, can put the health of others at risk. This is one of the reasons why currently smoking has been so widely banned in public places. I have noticed, some bend the rule; they smoke outside their offices, schools or at other working places. If you go pass a large hospital, quite often you would notice a few people happily smoke outside the premises. You would be surprised to see how many old disabled men and women on wheelchairs, crutches are smoking just at the entrance to the hospital.
Chewing betel, tobacco then cigars
I have seen some Sri Lankans chew tobacco along with betel leaves; lime and arricanuts [puwak], chew it for a while then spit out a stream of some what red spit. They spit anywhere, sometimes while travelling in cars and buses as well. If you visit rural tea boutiques, you may still see some old people chewing betel leaves. It has been found that much more nicotine enters the body through chewing tobacco and many nicotine patches, gums than through smoking cigarettes. Sometimes they smoke long black cigars as well.
Second hand smoking
Sometimes the children as young as 10 or 11 years old, get into small gangs and smoke, may be to show off the others. Some pregnant women, all walks of people happily smoke in spite all these warnings. It’s chilling to think about not only how smokers poison themselves, but what others are exposed to by breathing in the second-hand smoke. Next time when you’re missing your old buddy, the cigarette, take a good long look at this list of toxic chemicals and carcinogens in cigarettes then think. If someone smokes around you, just slowly get away but never say anything to them because they don’t like any advice, instead they get annoyed, even a glance at them is enough, so never even eye contact.
More about Nicotine.
In numerous ways nicotine is a very dangerous substance. Certain reports suggest that there may be a link between nicotine and kidney disease, it damages the inside of your arteries and it can increase your risk of heart disease. The cigarette smoke damage the lining of the arteries that leads to build up a fatty material [atheroma] and this narrows the blood vessels making the blood to pass through a narrow space. Further more, nicotine stimulates the body to produce adrenaline which makes the heart beat faster that means raises blood pressure which is another cause for heart diseases. Furthermore, withdrawal from nicotine can lead to irritability, headaches, poor concentration, insomnia, constipation and it can even increase your appetite. Therefore, whilst you may feel less hungry when you have a steady supply of nicotine, you quickly become reliant on this substance to suppress your appetite, all the time doing increased damage to your body. As mothers, they know it but still keep on smoking because of the habit or the addiction.
“Research has shown that nicotine, like cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, increase the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which affects the brain pathways that controls the reward, and pleasure. One of them is Nicotine; it is a powerful addiction drug and a very tough one to break.
Some common dangerous chemicals in cigarettes are:
Benzene, this is a colourless cyclic aromatic liquid hydrocarbon from coal and petroleum, used as a solvent in chemical industries and sometimes in Universities. In fact, I had to use it as a solvent when I was doing my MSc in synthetic organic chemistry in the University of North London in Holloway road. I must say it was handled carefully, under fume cupboards so that any escaped vapour extracted immediately. There are alternative solvents for experiments.
Not just Benzene but benzopyrenes and butane are formed during the burning of tobacco. Why, it is bad because it is a carcinogen and associated with blood cancer or leukaemia. These gases are absorbed by the lungs then transported to various organs, mainly to the liver where they are metabolised and converted to various compounds. Now we know these compounds are very reactive and toxic to the body.
An embalming poisonous fluid called formaldehyde also present in cigarette smoke. It is also supposed to cause cancer, breathing or respiratory problems then skin and digestive problems.
A toilet cleaning liquid known as ammonia is also present in cigarettes. It frees nicotine from tobacco as a gas.
Nail varnish has a fragrant volatile liquid called acetone and this is also found in cigarette smoke. Acetone removes paints and graffiti from masonry.
No introduction is required about tar, it is the road surfacing black substance and this is also present in cigarette smoke. The danger is the inhaled smoke when condensed on lungs surface deposits a layer of tar. Imagine who smokes 20 a day for 20 years! Why do the people tar the lung surface then complain, “Doctor, I have breathing difficulties”?
Nicotine is also used as an insecticide and the substance is a powerful addictive drug so if you cannot give up smoking it must be due to addiction.
Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, such as gas (domestic or bottled), coal, oil, coke and wood fires, gas stoves, heating boilers, gas-powered water heaters, paraffin heaters, and solid fuel-powered water heaters are all potential sources of carbon monoxide. The problem arises when such appliances are poorly maintained, not serviced and housed in poorly ventilated areas. In addition to this cigarette smoking produces carbon monoxide. Even a 12 year old child knows, carbon dioxide and monoxide are produced when something burns but a grown up person who smokes doesn’t know what gases are produced when cigarettes burn.
Carbon monoxide can also bind to haemoglobin [red blood] but does so about 240 times more tightly than oxygen, forming a compound called carboxy-haemoglobin. Again even GCSE science students know this fact. This means that if both carbon monoxide and oxygen are inhaled, carbon monoxide will preferentially bind to haemoglobin. This reduces the amount of haemoglobin available to bind to oxygen, so the body and tissues become starved of oxygen.
What about the unborn babies, in the smoking pregnant women, do the unborn babies starve for oxygen? So it’s possible that some people have smoked even before they were born.
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