Dying for a smoke?

When you light up a cigarette, you are inhaling a deadly concoction of chemicals anyone of which would be sure to kill you if you took a much larger dose of it.

Below is a list of chemicals found in cigarettes.

1) Sulphuric acid: highly corrosive and great for clearing blocked drains, but not so good for your lungs, it causes narrowing of the airways and makes mucus harder to clear out of your system, Sulphuric acid also eats away at tooth enamel causing decay. Car batteries also use sulphuric acid.

2) Formaldehyde: Used to preserve corpses and as an ingredient in some toilet cleaners Formaldehyde can cause a very rare cancer in the nasal passages, prolonged exposure increases the risk of cancer of the nose, sinuses, throat and lungs.

3) Acetone: also known as nail polish remover it is associated with bronchial irritation and increases the chances of kidney cancer, Acetone is also an irritant of the nose, lungs, throat and eyes and high levels of it can lead to headaches and dizziness.

4) Ammonia: speeds up the body's ability to absorb nicotine, boosting the impact of each inhalation. Ammonia is created naturally when tobacco is manufactured and burned. In an American court, however tobacco companies admitted adding Ammonia to their products.

5) Tar: A sticky brown substance, which is probably the most destructive part of a cigarette, it builds up in the lungs causing Emphysema that triggers cancers and damages DNA. 70% of the tar in a cigarette stays in the body as a coating on the lungs. Low-tar cigarettes are just as lethal a study in the British Medical Journal found the same risks to smokers of low-tar brands with 7mg or less as brands with 15-21mg.

6) Arsenic: this white powder is found in rat poison and is also used as an ant killer, there are between 40 and 120 nanograms found in 1 cigarette, although it would take at least 120 milligrams to instantly kill a person, Arsenic builds up in the body increasing the risk of skin, lung and bladder cancers.

7) Cadmium: A heavy metal used in the production of batteries but traces of Cadmium occur naturally in the body, Scientists believe it is found in cigarettes as a result of tiny amounts being absorbed from the earth and air as tobacco plants grow. Cadmium causes fluid on the lungs and remains in the body for over 20 years. The toxic metal also stops cells from repairing damaged DNA. Studies show that smokers have double the amount in their blood as non-smokers.

8) Lead: lead another heavy metal causes brain damage and stunted growth, although only minute traces are found in cigarettes it is known to accumulate in the body. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to Lead doubles the risk of cataracts and can lead to infertility in men, tests have shown that it prevented sperm from fertilising the egg.

9) Benzene: when tobacco burns it gives off a dangerous family of chemicals known as hydrocarbons, benzene is absorbed through the lungs and are known to cause cancer, long term exposure can also damage bone marrow and blood production. Perrier were forced to recall thousands of bottles of their mineral water a few years ago when benzene contamination was discovered.

10) Polonium: late last year the news was full of reports about Alexander Litvenenko, who died from Polonium poisoning.

Cancer Research UK says that the deadly toxin could account for most cases of lung cancer in smokers, it becomes concentrated in the airways, exposing smokers to very high levels of radiation, it was estimated that 30 cigarettes a day is equal to 300 chest X-rays in a year.

I know first hand what smoking does to the human body because I lost both my parents to smoking related illnesses. In 1999, my dad died of lung cancer he was 62 years old, in the same year my mother died from pneumonia, which she was too weak to fight off because she suffered from angina which the doctor had put down to her being a smoker.

I myself have smoked 7 cigarettes during the research and writing of this article.and it has given me more determination to quit.