About Smoking > Anatomy of a Cigarette
What’s in a Cigarette?
4,000 Chemicals: There are more than 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco and tobacco smoke, 60 of which are known to cause cancer. Hundreds of those substances are deliberately added to cigarettes by manufacturers for flavor and to make smoking more pleasant, and in some cases, more addictive. Here's a look at just a handful of what you might find in an average cigarette.
Honey: Though not clear what effect -- if any -- it has on the human body, honey has been added to some cigarettes to enhance flavor.
Chocolate: Added for flavor, chocolate is a common ingredient in some cigarette brands.
Ammonia: To boost the effects of nicotine and thereby make cigarettes more addictive, tobacco companies began to add ammonia to cigarettes in the 1960s.
Hydrogen Cyanide: Used on death row inmates in the gas chamber, hydrogen cyanide can be also be found in the secondhand smoke of many cigarettes. It's produced by other chemicals burning in the cigarette.
Arsenic: Often used in pesticides, arsenic is deadly to human beings. Though experts say a large and consistent amount of arsenic is needed to kill a person outright, inhaling it over a long period of time isn't recommended.
Acetone: A common ingredient in nail polish remover and used as a cleaning solvent, acetone is not classified as a carcinogen and therefore not directly linked to cancer. However, exposure to large amounts of acetone can cause dizziness, fainting and even induce a coma.
Formaldehyde: Formaldehyde is used mainly to preserve organic tissue, most often in mortuaries to preserve the body before burial. A cancer-causing agent, formaldehyde produces reactions that range from watery eyes to nausea, and can cause difficulty in