What's in a cigarette?

Cigarettes contain several thousand chemicals, many of which are toxic and sixty which cause cancer. They can also contain over 600 flavourings and additives in a single cigarette.

Nicotine

Nicotine is a drug that stimulates the brain. If you are a regular smoker, when the blood level of nicotine falls, you usually develop withdrawal symptoms such as craving, anxiety, restlessness, headaches, irritability, hunger, difficulty with concentration, or just feeling generally unpleasant

Tar which contains many chemicals

These deposit in the lungs and can get into the blood vessels and be carried to other parts of the body. Cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens (causes of cancer) and other poisons.

Carbon monoxide

This chemical affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the UK.

Which diseases are caused or made worse by smoking?

• Lung cancer: About 30,000 people in the UK die from lung cancer each year.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): About 25,000 people in the UK die each year from this serious lung disease.
• Heart disease: is the biggest killer illness in the UK. About 120,000 people in the UK die each year from heart disease.
• Other cancers: - of the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, gullet (oesophagus), pancreas, bladder, cervix, blood (leukaemia), and kidney are all more common in smokers.
• Circulation: The chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of the blood vessels and affect the level of lipids (fats) in the bloodstream. This increases the risk of atheroma forming (sometimes called 'hardening' of the arteries
• Ageing: Smokers tend to develop more 'lines' on their face at an earlier age than non-smokers.
• Fertility: is reduced in smokers (both male and female).

Passive smoking of adults

You have an increased risk of lung cancer and heart disease if you are exposed to other people smoking for long periods of time.

What are the benefits of stopping smoking?

The benefits begin immediately. If you stop smoking before the age of about 35, your life expectancy is only slightly less than people who have never smoked. If you stop smoking before the age of 50, you decrease the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases by 50%.

But, it is never too late to stop smoking to gain health benefits. Your prognosis is much improved if you stop smoking.