Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. At least 400 are poisonous and more than 50 are cancer-causing. Examples of harmful chemicals in cigarette are nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, DDT, acetone, formaldehyde, naphthalene, polonium-210 and vinyl chloride.
Nicotine Poisoning
Nicotine is one of the most lethal poisons known. Nicotine is found in cigars, cigarettes, loose tobacco (Ang Hoon & bidis), shisha,, chewing tobacco and cigarette butts. It is also found in pesticide.
Ingestion of nicotine can cause nicotine poisoning. Severity and manifestation of symptoms depends on the form and amount of nicotine ingested. Symptoms usually begin within 30 to 90 minutes. If in liquid form, symptoms may appear in as little as 15 to 30 minutes.
Infants and children are especially sensitive to nicotine. Eating one or more cigarettes, three or more cigarette butts, or more than one pinch of snuff is considered potentially toxic or poisonous to children.
Nicotine poisoning causes dizziness, nausea or vomiting, stomach pain, weakness and increased drooling. In more severe cases, it may cause abnormal blood pressure or heartbeat, slowed or interrupted breathing, general sluggishness, seizures and coma.
Long-term impact of smoking or inhaling environmental tobacco smoke
Smoking or passive-smoking (secondhand smoke) can cause cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder and cervix, heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure, blood vessel disease and chronic lung diseases (bronchitis and emphysema). In pregnant woman, the chemicals from cigarette may get pass from the mother into the baby’s blood and increases the risk of stillbirth and underweight or premature birth.
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Smoking and Niccotine
