Facts of Smoking (quitting)

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Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 different chemicals, many of which are poisons. Some might be relatively harmless by themselves, but together in smoke they make a toxic cocktail.

Poisons in tobacco smoke

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas linked with heart disease, stroke and other circulation problems.
Tar is deposited in the lungs with every breath of cigarette smoke taken. Tar causes cancer and damages your lungs.
Benzene is a solvent and is a known cause of cancer and is associated with leukaemia.
Formaldehyde is a poison used to preserve dead bodies. It is known to cause cancer, respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems.
Ammonia is used in cigarettes - it is also found in cleaning fluids.
Cadmium is a poisonous metal, used in batteries. It causes liver, kidney and brain damage.

Passive smoking - damage to others around you

Smoking puts at risk anyone nearby who breathes in the smoke. As the smoker inhales only 15% of the smoke from a cigarette, 85% of it is absorbed into the atmosphere or inhaled by other people. The act of breathing in this secondary smoke is called passive smoking. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of passive smoking and those who live with smokers may become prone to chest, ear, and nose and throat infections, and to more serious conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia. The UK Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health has estimated that about 300 non-smokers in this country die each year from lung cancer caused by passive smoking. Recent research has also linked strokes and heart attacks to passive smoking. The British Medical Association has conservatively estimated that passive smoking causes at least 1,000 deaths a year in the UK. Apart from the direct health risks, smoking causes over 3,000 house fires a year in England, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100 people.