In many instances, quitting smoking is just so much easier when you become aware of the ugly contents of the cigarette itself. Yes, I mean chemical content. Did you know that cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins?? These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.
We know that nicotine is highly addictive and smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, where nicotine reaches your brain in just 6 seconds. In small doses nicotine acts as a stimulant to the brain but in large doses, it’s a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm. When you smoke a cigarette, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs. Continue reading ‘What is Really in a Cigarette…’ »