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LibrarySections |
 The
nature of tobacco smoke*
Tobacco smoke is made up of “sidestream smoke” from the
burning tip of the cigarette and “mainstream smoke” from
the filter or mouth end.
Tobacco smoke contains thousands of different chemicals which are
released into the air as particles and gases.
Many toxins are present in higher concentrations in sidestream smoke
than in mainstream smoke and, typically, nearly 85% of the smoke in
a room results from sidestream smoke. The particulate phase includes
nicotine, "tar" (itself composed of many chemicals), benzene
and benzo(a)pyrene.
The gas phase includes carbon monoxide, ammonia, dimethylnitrosamine,
formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and acrolein. Some of these have marked
irritant properties and some have been shown to cause cancer.
One study has established the link between smoking and lung cancer
at the cellular level. It found that a substance in the tar of cigarettes,
benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE), damages DNA in a key tumour suppresser
gene[source: ash.org]
* Allerair does not
encourage smoking. |
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