The Harms Caused By Burning Cigarettes

We know that smoking cigarette is harmful, but not many of us know why and many of us thought that smoking cigarettes are harmful because of nicotine. However, the truth is although nicotine is not risk-free and the reason why smoking cigarettes is harmful is because of the SMOKE! Therefore, today I will be sharing with you guys why cigarettes smoke is the main problem.

Cigarette smoke contains numerous chemicals and substances that are harmful to smokers as well as non-smokers. Burning cigarettes or tobacco also produces smoke containing more than 7000 chemicals and many of the chemicals are toxic or potentially harmful. Around 100 of these chemicals are classified by public health experts as causes or possible causes of smoking related diseases. At least 250 of 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, including ammonia, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide are said to be harmful. In addition, at least 69 of the 250 identified substances of tobacco smoke are harmful and may cause cancer. These chemicals that cancer-causing also include Aromatic Amines, Arsenic and Acetaldehyde. Thus, breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be dangerous for some people.

Second-hand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers, which is also known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). Second-hand smoker damages the body many different ways. The length of exposure and amount of smoke people are exposed to determine the risk and severity of harm. For example, people who were exposed to second-hand smoker may experience various diseases including lung cancer and heart disease. Besides, second-hand smoke can also cause breathing problems such as asthma, respiratory infections, cough and wheezing. Furthermore, infants or babies that exposed to second-hand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

When a person lights a cigarette, the tobacco and oxygen in the air combine to create a self-sustaining combustion process that consumes the tobacco which will cause the cigarette’s burning tip reaches to a temperature of 900 Celsius and produces both smoke and ash. The smoke released from burning the cigarettes does contain a variety of harmful particles that might cause smoking-related diseases. Thus, this is why many public health institutes and experts informed us that smoking cigarette is harmful to our health.

However, stopping people from consuming nicotine or smoking cigarettes is not always achievable or realistic. Therefore, a transformation needs to be done by helping existing smokers to shift away from cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products and toward healthier, smoke-free alternatives nicotine delivery such as e-cigarettes, nicotine patches and heat-not-burn (HNB) alternatives is essential. This is because switching to smoke-free products will help smokers to avoid burning any tobacco or cigarettes when consuming the nicotine. This can be also considered as a way to protect both smokers and non-smokers from the exposure of second-hand smoke. 

In 2004, I started smoking. After 10 years of smoking, I began to see the harmful effects of smoking not just on myself but on others too. Thus, I switched to E-cigarettes and it did help me on having a better lifestyle. Besides, I also managed to reduce my smoking habit effectively after I started using e-cigarette. I would say that, if you can’t quit smoking, then switching to harmful alternatives is one of the wisest choices you can make. It can save your health by lowering your risk of getting smoking related diseases and also being able to protect your loved ones from second-hand smoke and save money. 

I hope that by sharing my personal experience can help you to understand better the problem of burning and the benefit of switching to a less harmful alternative such as e-cigarettes or heat-not-burn products!

References

1. Bekki, K., Inaba, Y., Uchiyama, S., & Kunugita, N. (2017). Comparison of chemicals in mainstream smoke in heat-not-burn tobacco and combustion cigarettes. Journal of UOEH, 39(3), 201-207. Retrieved from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/juoeh/39/3/39_201/_pdf/-char/ja

 2. Medicareful. (May 2019). 3 Common & Unhealthy Habits. Retrieved from https://living.medicareful.com/3-common-unhealthy-habits

 3. The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team. (October, 2020). Harmful Chemicals in Tobacco Products. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/carcinogens-found-in-tobacco-products.html

 4. National Cancer Institute. (December 2017). Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet

 5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (US); Office on Smoking and Health (US). (2010). How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53010/

 6. Breathe The Lung Association. (October 2016). View All Quitting Success Stories. Retrieved from https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/smoking-and-tobacco/quitting-success/view-all-quitting-success-stories