What’s in a cigarette?
There are more than 4000 chemicals contained in tobacco
smoke, many of which are harmful when inhaled by smokers
and those around them.
Nicotine
This is the drug that causes addiction. It is very powerful and fast acting,
hitting the brain seven seconds after each drag. Nicotine causes higher
than usual neurotransmitter activity. When the activity starts to drop back
to ‘normal’ level, smokers finds themselves craving the next cigarette.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas found in high concentrations
in cigarette smoke. It is also produced by car exhausts and faulty gas fires
and boilers.
When inhaled, carbon monoxide combines readily with haemoglobin in
red blood cells to form carboxyhaemoglobin. This decreases the blood’s
oxygen-carrying capacity, depriving the organs and muscles of oxygen.
The smoker may experience fatigue, shortness of breath and low energy
levels.
To try and get more oxygen in, the heart beats faster and more red blood
cells are produced. The heart has to work harder which increases the risk
of heart attack or heart failure. Smoking just three cigarettes a day
doubles the risk of having a heart attack.
The extra red blood cells produced cause the blood to become thicker
and more sticky. Carbon monoxide also interacts in the blood vessels to
increase fatty deposits on the arterial walls. The effect of these fatty
deposits and blood becoming stickier is to increase the chance of blood
clots and strokes (clot in the brain) and heart attacks (clot in the arteries
of the heart).
Carbon monoxide is particularly harmful during pregnancy. In addition to
the damage to the woman, the oxygen supply to the uterus and fetus is
reduced. One cigarette can reduce fetal blood flow by 60%, restricting
growth, repair and exchange of essential nutrients in the evolving cells.
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