The negative health effects of cigarette smoking are various and well known, including much higher instances of many kinds of cancer, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Many other illnesses can be associated with people who are exposed to smokers as well - children of smokers are more likely to be born prematurely and with a lower birth weight, and people living in the same home as a smoker can suffer from many of the same ailments as a smoker through secondhand smoke.

The Contents of a Cigarette

Cigarettes are made from dried tobacco leaves that are subsequently rolled into a paper tube. However, tobacco companies use hundreds of additives in their cigarettes to improve taste, make them burn evenly and more quickly, and to preserve the tobacco. Cigarette smoke contains 4,800 chemicals and compounds, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, and plutonium-210, all three of which can kill a person in significant enough quantities. Sixty-nine of these chemicals are known carcinogens, meaning they have been directly linked with cancer.

Carbon monoxide, a major by-product of a burning cigarette, binds with red blood cells in the body, reducing their capacity to carry oxygen.

Several of the compounds found in cigarette smoke, including benzedrine, damage cellular DNA, causing cells to reproduce and grow out of control and thus become cancerous.

Nicotine is the primary addictive element in tobacco. When inhaled, nicotine reaches the brain in less than 10 seconds, where it stimulates the release of adrenaline, which in turn causes a speeding of the metabolism of blood sugars. The adrenaline and the heightened blood sugar metabolism creates a hyper-alertness and stimulation of the brain and cardiovascular system, similar to the effects of caffeine, though in a more potent form. Nicotine is just as addictive as Schedule I narcotics like heroin or cocaine. To date, only about 5 percent of those who try to quit smoking actually achieve long-term success.

Cigarette smoke also contains significant amounts of tar, which has been directly linked to emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma. Emphysema is a chronic blockage of the lungs and airways, preventing the absorption of oxygen by the body. Most emphysems sufferers require an oxygen supplement with them at all times and have extremely limited physical movement.