What Exactly Goes in a Cigarette?

Over 120 million people in India smoke every day, with most of them not even aware of what they are getting into. Young smokers may not even realize how their new habit can quickly lead to deadly diseases like heart diseases, lung diseases, diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. If you're wondering as to why cigarette smoking causes more than 900,000 deaths every year, then look no further than its ingredients. The average cigarette contains around 600 ingredients that produce 7000 different chemicals when burnt, out of which 69 are known to cause cancer and many of them are poisonous. Here is a list of some harmful chemicals found in cigarettes:

• Nicotine- Found in insecticides, nicotine is an addictive chemical found in cigarettes.
• Acetone- Ingredient commonly found in nail polish remover.
• Acetic acid- It's a common ingredient in hair dyes.
• Ammonia- A commonly used compound in cleaning products and fertilizers.
• Arsenic- An inorganic substance found in rat poison. Arsenic and tobacco are known carcinogens, reproductive and cardiovascular toxicants.
• Benzene- commonly found in pesticide and gasoline, it is present in high levels in cigarette smoke.
• Butane- A chemical present in lighter fluid.
• Formaldehyde- Mostly used to preserve dead bodies; it is known to cause nose, throat and eye irritation and cancer in smokers.
• Vinyl chloride- This man made chemical used in making plastics is present in cigarette filters.
• Cadmium- A heavy toxic chemical used to recharge car batteries is present in twice the quantity in smokers as compared to non smokers.
• Lead- 210 and Polonium-210- Lead- 210 and Polonium-210 are poisonous, radioactive heavy metals found in cigarette smoke.
• Carbon monoxide- A lethal gas found in car exhaust fumes is present in high levels in cigarettes and is known to affect the flow of oxygen in the body.
• Hydrogen cyanide- Is a deadly gas chamber poison.
• Naphthalene- It's an ingredient found in moth balls.
• Tar- It's a commonly used material for to pave roads.

Having read through the big list of deadly chemicals above, do you still wish to continue smoking?