Cigarette
Compound Micrograms per cigarette Effect on DNA
Acrolein 122.4 Reacts with deoxyguanine and forms DNA crosslinks , DNA-protein crosslinks and DNA adducts
Formaldehyde 60.5 DNA-protein crosslinks causing chromosome deletions and re-arrangements
Acrylonitrile 29.3 Oxidative stress causing increased 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine
1,3-butadiene 105.0 Global loss of DNA methylation ( an epigenetic effect ) as well as DNA adducts
Acetaldehyde 1448.0 Reacts with deoxyguanine to form DNA adducts
Ethylene oxide 7.0 Hydroxyethyl DNA adducts with adenine and guanine
Isoprene 952.0 Single and double strand breaks in DNA
Health effects -- Smokers
Main article : Health effects of tobacco Artistas brand cigarette package of Mexico from the Museo del Objeto del Objeto collection The harm from smoking comes from the many toxic chemicals in the natural tobacco leaf and those formed in smoke from burning tobacco . People keep smoking because the nicotine , the primary psychoactive chemical in cigarettes , is highly addictive . [ 140 ] About half of smokers die from a smoking-related cause . Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body . Smoking leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart , liver , and lungs , being a major risk factor for heart attacks , strokes , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) ( including emphysema and chronic bronchitis ) , and cancer ( particularly lung cancer , cancers of the larynx and mouth , and pancreatic cancer ) . It also causes peripheral vascular disease and hypertension . Children born to women who smoke during pregnancy are at higher risk of congenital disorders , cancer , respiratory disease , and sudden death . On average , each cigarette smoked is estimated to shorten life by 11 minutes . [ 11 ] [ 141 ] [ 142 ] Starting smoking earlier in life and smoking cigarettes higher in tar increases the risk of these diseases . The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco kills 8 million people each year as of 2019 [ 143 ] and 100 million deaths over the course of the 20th century . [ 144 ] Cigarettes produce an aerosol containing over 4,000 chemical compounds , including nicotine , carbon monoxide , acrolein , and oxidant substances . [ 17 ] Over 70 of these are carcinogens . [ 18 ] The most important chemical compounds causing cancer are those that produce DNA damage since such damage appears to be the primary underlying cause of cancer . [ 145 ] Cunningham et al . [ 146 ] combined the microgram weight of the compound in the smoke of one cigarette with the known genotoxic effect per microgram to identify the most carcinogenic compounds in cigarette smoke . The seven most important carcinogens in tobacco smoke are shown in the table , along with DNA alterations they cause .
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing psychoactive material, usually tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. Most cigarettes contain a reconstituted tobacco product known as sheet, which consists of recycled [tobacco] stems, stalks, scraps, collected dust, and floor sweepings, to which are added glue, chemicals and fillers; the product is then sprayed with nicotine that was extracted from the tobacco scraps, and shaped into curls. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Most modern cigarettes are filtered, although this does not make them safer. Cigarette manufacturers have described cigarettes as a drug administration system for the delivery of nicotine in acceptable and attractive form. Cigarettes are addictive (because of nicotine) and cause cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and other health problems. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette but is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Cigar wrappers are typically composed of tobacco leaf or paper dipped in tobacco extract. Smoking rates have generally declined in the developed world, but continue to rise in some developing nations. Cigarette smoking causes disease and harms nearly every organ of the body. Nicotine is also highly addictive.