Cigarettes and Poisons

Click here to find out more about the chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Tobacco smoke is made up of a complex mixture of over 4,000 chemical substances. At least 43 of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke are known to cause cancer, including lung cancer, and cancer of the throat, mouth, bladder and kidneys.

The chemicals in cigarette smoke come from burning tobacco, burning cigarette paper, residues in agricultural chemicals left on the tobacco leaf, and chemicals added during the cigarette-making process.

Tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide are all found in cigarette smoke and are all known to contribute to most smoking related disease. There are many other chemicals in tobacco smoke which have a role in causing disease.

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