Why does tobacco contain chemicals

Section Menu. Here are a few of the chemicals in tobacco smoke and 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 Tar —material for paving roads Toluene —used to manufacture paint.

What's in an e-cigarette? Get the facts about nicotine, flavorings, colorings and other chemicals found in e-cigarettes. Find out more. Make a Donation Your tax-deductible donation funds lung disease and lung cancer research, new treatments, lung health education, and more. The main smokeless tobacco products in the United States are snuff and chewing tobacco , which are put into the mouth or nose but are not burned like cigarettes or cigars. Smokeless tobacco products contain a variety of potentially harmful chemicals, including high levels of TSNAs.

There are also other cancer-causing agents in smokeless tobacco, such as polonium a radioactive element and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs. These carcinogens are absorbed through the mouth and may be why several types of cancer are linked to the use of smokeless tobacco. It was first used in Sweden and Norway, but it is now available in the United States as well.

Snus generally has lower levels of nicotine and TSNAs than traditional moist snuff brands, but it can still be addictive and has been linked to some types of cancer. Dissolvable products are forms of smokeless tobacco that come in different shapes and sizes, such as lozenges, orbs, pellets, thin strips, and sticks.

Depending on the type, they are held in the mouth, chewed, or sucked until they dissolve. Like other tobacco products, dissolvable tobacco products contain nicotine and other harmful and potentially harmful chemicals.

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NCI Congressional Justification. Current Congress. Committees of Interest. Legislative Resources. Recent Public Laws. Search Search. Cancer-Causing Substances. Chronic Inflammation. Common Cancer Myths and Misconceptions. Infectious Agents. On This Page What harmful chemicals does tobacco smoke contain? What are some of the health problems caused by cigarette smoking?

What are the risks of tobacco smoke to nonsmokers? Is smoking addictive? Are other tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco or pipe tobacco, harmful and addictive? Is it harmful to smoke just a few cigarettes a day?

What are the immediate health benefits of quitting smoking? What are the long-term health benefits of quitting smoking? Does quitting smoking lower the risk of getting and dying from cancer? Is it important for someone diagnosed with cancer to quit smoking?

Where can I get help to quit smoking? What harmful chemicals does tobacco smoke contain? These cancer-causing chemicals include the following 1 , 2 , 5 : Acetaldehyde Aromatic amines Arsenic Benzene Beryllium a toxic metal 1,3—Butadiene a hazardous gas Cadmium a toxic metal Chromium a metallic element Cumene Ethylene oxide Formaldehyde Nickel a metallic element Polonium a radioactive chemical element Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs Tobacco-specific nitrosamines Vinyl chloride.

Smokeless tobacco : Smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco that is not burned. It includes chewing tobacco , oral tobacco, spit or spitting tobacco, dip, chew, snus, dissolvable tobacco, and snuff. Smokeless tobacco causes oral mouth, tongue, cheek and gum , esophageal, and pancreatic cancers and may also cause gum and heart disease 11 , Cigars : These include premium cigars, little filtered cigars LFCs , and cigarillos.

LFCs resemble cigarettes, but both LFCs and cigarillos may have added flavors to increase appeal to youth and young adults 15 , Most cigars are composed primarily of a single type of tobacco air-cured and fermented , and have a tobacco leaf wrapper.

Studies have found that cigar smoke contains higher levels of toxic chemicals than cigarette smoke, although unlike cigarette smoke, cigar smoke is often not inhaled Cigar smoking causes cancer of the oral cavity, larynx, esophagus, and lung. It may also cause cancer of the pancreas. Moreover, daily cigar smokers, particularly those who inhale, are at increased risk for developing heart disease and other types of lung disease.

Pipes : In pipe smoking, the tobacco is placed in a bowl that is connected to a stem with a mouthpiece at the other end. The smoke is usually not inhaled. Pipe smoking causes lung cancer and increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, and esophagus 11 , 17 , Hookah or waterpipe other names include argileh, ghelyoon, hubble bubble, shisha, boory, goza, and narghile : A hookah is a device used to smoke tobacco often heavily flavored by passing the smoke through a partially filled water bowl before being inhaled by the smoker.

Although some people think hookah smoking is less harmful and addictive than cigarette smoking 19 , research shows that hookah smoke is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke 20 — Bidis : A bidi is a flavored cigarette made by rolling tobacco in a dried leaf from the tendu tree, which is native to India.

Bidi use is associated with heart attacks and cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, and lung 11 , Kreteks : A kretek is a cigarette made with a mixture of tobacco and cloves. Smoking kreteks is associated with lung cancer and other lung diseases 11 , The immediate health benefits of quitting smoking are substantial: Heart rate and blood pressure , which are abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal. Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood begins to decline.

Within several months of quitting, people can expect substantial improvements in lung function You probably know that cigarettes can kill you—in fact, smoking kills half of those who don't quit 1 —but do you really have the full story?

Do you know how many harmful chemicals are in cigarettes or how they get into the product? FDA created these videos and interactive tools to lay the foundation for an important public health goal: we aim to publish a list of the levels of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals in tobacco, in a way that is easy for the public to understand. As an important step toward that goal, we invite you to explore the chemicals in tobacco in three stages of cigarettes, from plant to product to puff, in the videos below.

It is a fact that cigarettes contain dangerous chemicals. Are most of the harmful chemicals added during the manufacturing process? Fact : Some of the toxic chemicals in tobacco are present in the plant itself.