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A single cigarette has not only about 4,000 chemical substances but also one hundred thousand unknown materials. A number of materials are known to be carcinogenic.
◎Nicotine: This is known as an addictive drug. It has a high level of toxicity. Its toxicity is similar to heroin or cocaine. 600mg of nicotine can kill a person within one minute. Nicotine is absorbed into the body well, so if you smoke, it reaches the brain in 6 seconds. It also raises blood pressure and pulse, thus making your heart beat faster. It is often used in insecticide and herbicide.
◎Tar: Tar is a compound of more than 200 chemicals. Cigarette tar contains more than 30 toxic elements. If you smoke a pack of cigarettes every day, a cup of tar piles up in your lungs. Cigarette tar is a major cause of lung cancer.
◎Carbon monoxide: Carbon monoxide is a well-known poisonous substance. It is usually found in car exhaust fumes. It combines with hemoglobin which carries oxygen in our body. It combines with hemoglobin to produce carboxyhemoglobin, which is ineffective for delivering oxygen to bodily tissues. A high level of carboxyhemoglobin causes carbon monoxide poisoning. This poisoning occurs from burning coal briquettes.
◎Hydrocyanic acid gas: Cigarette smoke also contains hydrocyanic acid, an extremely toxic poison. A hydrocyanic acid gas concentration of 300 mg/m3 in air is enough to kill a human in 10 minutes.
◎Phenol: Phenol is an organic compound that is used commercially as a disinfectant or antiseptic. It is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. Prolonged skin contact with phenol may cause skin burns or cancer.
Cigarette smoke contains a lot of other toxic substances such as acetone, butane, benzene, etc. Almost all substances found in cigarettes are harmful, and this is not an overstatement. Learning about the toxic substances that cigarettes contain should be horrifying enough to make one give up smoking.
Kim E-seul seul_09@changwon.ac.kr
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Shrinkflation, Consumer Deception
