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Brown & Williamson.
One of the
largest tobacco manufacturers in the USA.
In 1994 they
published a list of 599
additives used in their cigarettes.
You'll be
surprised how innocuous they sound.
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British Columbia Ministry of Health, Canada.
The first public body to commission
independent research into cigarette additives.
They claim there are over
4,000 substances in cigarette smoke.
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Prof John Gorrod.
A leading chemist who has spent
25 years studying cigarette smoke.
His research
team has been funded by cancer charities and the tobacco industry.
Here he adjudicates.
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Occurs in human/animal
breath due to protein metabolism; dissolved in water it is a naturally
occurring substance that plays a vital role in protein metabolism
in animals, including man". |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Scientists have discovered
that ammonia helps you absorb more nicotine, keeping you hooked on
smoking". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Theoretically Ammonia
should help you absorb more nicotine. In practise I have seen data
that shows it has no effect whatsoever. The tobacco companies admit
to putting in ammonium phosphate but this is just to supplement the
ammonia that is already there as during distillation and burning,
ammonia is formed. This gives tobacco smoke some of the characteristics
which the customer likes. The level of ammonia is not at a level to
be toxic". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| Present in tobacco. It is
not an additive. |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Nicotine is the drug
in tobacco that makes smoking a powerful addiction. Experts rank nicotine
ahead of alcohol, cocaine and heroin with regard to the severity of
dependence resulting from its use". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Nicotine is there
purely because it is present in tobacco. It is not added. Nicotine
is a tobacco alkaloid. It produces a reaction with nicotinic receptors
and produces effects on muscles and the brain. The pleasures of smoking
are caused by nicotine itself. It relaxes people making them feel
good. You can measure the blood level of nicotine and research has
shown that as that level drops the smoker will reach for another cigarette,
the blood level will go back up again and they will be happy. It is
without doubt the most pharmacologically active agent. Every chemical
is dangerous if you have high enough levels of concentrations. Everyone
knows that when children first smoke they become sick, have headaches
and can vomit. The same can be said of tobacco pickers, they absorb
tobacco through the skin, when initially exposed to it they get nausea.
This is low exposure and these people recover. But for the average
smoker, it would certainly not be the nicotine that would do them
harm. The tobacco industry seem to be lowering and lowering the levels
of nicotine, I’m not sure that is necessarily a good thing because
there is a case to be made for increasing the level of nicotine and
keeping the tar down". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Common food item" |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Flavour enhancer.
Appealing for children". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Like many of the other
substances, honey is put in to produce a particular flavour which
is attractive to the customer. People buy cigarettes of a specific
brand. They prefer one brand to another, and once they've found one
they like they will stick with it. Certain additives maintain the
consistency of the smoke. They control the pH balance, the rate of
burning etc. I don’t believe they are added for any underhand reason.
They are there as flavour enhancers". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| Not mentioned/ not an additive |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "This deadly poison
makes your lips burn, and gives you bad breath". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Just about every food
we have contains arsenic. Like a large number of other chemical elements
in the soil, it is taken up by plants and as a result it is present
in tobacco leaves. You will get traces of arsenic as you will other
metals, such as copper and lead. But the levels are so unbelieveably
low that the chances of them having an effect on a human is stretching
the imagination. To kill somebody with arsenic you have to give them
a lot for a very long time and this isn’t a lot of arsenic, these
are traces". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| Not mentioned/ not an additive |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Cancer-causing chemical
used to make everything from pesticides to detergent to gasoline".
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| PROF. GORROD |
| "Benzene along with
bezopyrene and butane are all hydrocarbons present because of pyrolasis
[burning of tobacco]. These compounds are undoubtedly carcinogenic
and - along with nitrosamines - are the most unpleasant toxicants.
Generally speaking they are chemically quite inert but during the
course of their transit through the body they get absorbed by the
lungs and then transported to various organs, principally the liver,
where they are metabolised and converted to compounds which we know
are very reactive and toxic. Similarly the nitrosamines are formed
chemically in the body. These substances were widely used as solvents
at one time. Luckily that's all stopped now. They are without any
doubt carcinogenic. It's difficult to take them out of tobacco smoke
because they are not in tobacco, they are actually produced during
the burning process. Other nasty substances are the oxides of nitrogen
and sulphur and hydrochloric acid that can also be present. They are
gases which can irreversibly damage the lungs to produce things like
emphysema. Asthma has been shown to develop in children whose parents
smoke". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Common food item" |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Flavour enhancer.
Appealing for children". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Like many of the
other substances this is added as a flavour enhancer to produce a
particular brand effect". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Found in vanilla bean;
used in baked goods, gelatin and puddings, condiments". |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Flavour enhancer.
Appealing for children". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Like many of the
other substances, this is added as a flavour enhancer to produce a
particular brand effect". |
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| Not mentioned/ not an additive |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Causes damage to the
liver, kidneys and brain, and stays in the body for years". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Cadmium is a nasty
toxic metal but the levels which occur in tobacco smoke are very low".
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| PRO-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| Not mentioned/ not an additive |
| ANTI-TOBACCO
LOBBY |
| "Lead poisoning stunts
your growth, makes you vomit and damages your brain". |
| PROF. GORROD |
| "Lead is a nasty toxic
metal but once again one has to keep these things in perspective.
The amount of lead that you got out of gasoline until relatively recently
was infinitely higher than anything you would get out of a cigarette.
If you consider the amount of pollution that occurs from heavily-used
motorways throughout the world it has been shown that the lead in
gasoline fumes undoubtedly affected the development of children. But
remember those levels are much higher than you could ever find in
tobacco smoke". |
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