The consequences of smoking are written on any cigarette packet. Many smokers who are unwilling to kick this bad habit completely try to find healthier alternatives, such as e-cigarettes, vapor, or hookah.
But are these alternatives really so harmless? We decided to find out and we’d like to share the results with you.
Cigarettes
What we are used to calling a cigarette is actually called the NDS or ‘nicotine delivery system’ in the tobacco industry and in World Health Organization documents.
Nicotine, carbon monoxide, acetone, arsenic, methane, polonium … it is not a chemical class, but several components included in a cigarette.
The researchers calculated that cigarette smoke contains 7,357 chemical compounds from different groups.
For example, tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide which, when ingested, forms a strong bond with hemoglobin. That is the reason why a smoker suffers from a lack of oxygen. For those who constantly smoke, any physical exercise becomes a real test.
It is also worth remembering that:
2 packs of cigarettes contain a deadly dose of nicotine. This means that after smoking that many cigarettes at once, you need to call the ambulance.
One pack of cigarettes a day equates to 500 X-ray exposures a year.
After inhalation, the nicotine reaches the brain in 7 seconds and causes spasms in the blood vessels; consequently, disrupting of oxygen supply to tissues.
“Light” Cigarettes
“Light” cigarettes are considered the least harmful, but this is not true. Yes, they contain fewer resins and nicotine, but these are not the main indicators of the harmfulness of cigarettes.
There are many others that are unfortunately not represented on the packaging. In “light” cigarettes, there is a very high concentration of specific nitrosamines, the so-called carcinogens, which are not contained in the “tar”, but in the tobacco itself.
One group of carcinogens is controlled, while the other remains unregistered, which is what manufacturers count on.
Also, a smoker’s body requires a specific dose of nicotine, and if the cigarette contains less nicotine than the smoker is used to, he or she will simply go back to smoking and buy more packs of cigarettes.
Cigars
The main argument in favor of cigars is that they cannot be smoked on the street and they add the image of a man of high status.
Yes, cigars are smoked less often than cigarettes, but a cigarette contains as much tobacco and harmful elements as a pack of regular cigarettes.
Therefore, you can choose to take a higher dose of poison less often or a lower dose more often.
After several checks, cigarette smoke was determined to be a leader in mutagenicity (causing changes in a person’s DNA). Canadian toxicologists found that cigars were 2.42 times more mutagenic than cigarettes.
Self-rolled Cigarettes
Self-rollers are the same cigarettes, with a few minor differences between them. Collecting all cigarette supplies yourself does not reduce the harm caused by smoking. Carbon Monoxide, Nicotine, and Ammonia – The list of harmful elements is no different than that of a normal cigarette.
Furthermore, scientists from the University of Otago in New Zealand say that self-rollers can be even more harmful than regular cigarettes.
A comparative analysis of the components of tobacco in regular cigarettes and self-rolled cigarettes showed that cigarettes contain around 0.5% of different harmful additives, while packaged self-rollers tobacco can contain up to 18% of them.
Smoking Pipe
Pipes are generally not inhaled deeply; smokers simply let the smoke fill their mouths to savor and exhale. However, nicotine, the element that causes addiction, is still absorbed by the body, but to a lesser extent.
Higher quality tobacco than normal cigarettes is known to be used primarily in pipes. In addition, when smoking a pipe, there is no cigarette paper or glue, the combustion products of which are also harmful.
Still, the main toxic elements that poison the human body are identical in both cigarettes and pipes.
All tobacco smoke contains carcinogens, and when burning straight tobacco inside a tobacco cell, it is most damaging to inhale the tobacco smoke itself.
Do you think it is possible to quit the most widespread bad habit in the world?
