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But this is only because it reduces the unpleasant symptoms of nicotine withdrawal for a short time. But nicotine is harmless compared to other substances in tobacco smoke. And studies have shown that nicotine replacement therapy NRT doesn't cause cancer. NRT helps people deal with cravings when they are trying to cut down or stop smoking. It comes in many forms including patches, lozenges or gum.

Find out more on our how do I stop smoking page. Up to 70 of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke cause cancer. Many of these cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke have other surprising uses. Arsenic is a poison. Benzene is an industrial solvent, refined from crude oil. Beryllium is used in nuclear reactors. Cadmium is used in batteries. Chromium is used to manufacture dye, paints and alloys.

Formaldehyde is used as a preservative in science laboratories and mortuaries. Polonium is a highly radioactive element. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of dangerous DNA-damaging chemicals, including benzo a pyrene. Find out more. Make a Donation Your tax-deductible donation funds lung disease and lung cancer research, new treatments, lung health education, and more. Make a Donation.

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Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes. In the labels were removed when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission determined these categories were misleading. Cigarette or tobacco smoke contains more than 4, different chemical compounds which are present in the solid phase, the gas phase or the liquid phase. The chemicals that make up the solid phase are tiny solid particles including phenols, nicotine and naphthalene.

The major gases include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrogen cyanide and the liquid vapours include formaldehyde, methane, benzene, ammonia and acetone. The majority of these chemicals come from burning tobacco and the rest are a mixture of chemicals from the burning of the cigarette paper, the additives and the agricultural chemicals left from farming the tobacco leaves. The tobacco smoke that comes out of a cigarette is made up two types of smoke; side stream smoke from the burning tip of the cigarette, and mainstream smoke that is delivered to the smoker via the filter or mouth end.

Tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine are the mainstream components of the smoke but they are not alone responsible for the deleterious effects associated with smoking and passive smoking.

There are at least 60 chemicals in smoke which have been identified as carcinogens and 30 identified metals, some of which are radioactive. Chemical compounds found in all phases of cigarette smoke have been associated with independent negative effects on the smoker, which means they produce their own separate damage.

These are just some of these chemicals found in cigarette smoke:. These chemical names may not mean very much to most people until they realise where else these chemicals are found and then it becomes evident just how harmful they are.

The following is a list of some chemicals found in cigarette smoke and where else they are found:. Nicotine is the addictive component of tobacco products. It exerts its addictive action by stimulating the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which happens within seconds of inhaling.

Dopamine is a reward chemical, when it is released smokers experience a pleasurable feeling. Most smokers need to intake from 0. Nicotine has also been found to:. Incomplete combustion of carbon-containing substances such as wood and oil produces carbon monoxide. In the case of cigarettes the carbon-containing substance is tobacco.

Other sources of CO include:. Carbon monoxide causes damage to the lungs by depriving the body of oxygen. Oxygen is displaced from haemoglobin Hb due to the competitive binding of carbon monoxide. Hb is responsible for transporting oxygen through the body therefore if oxygen is unable to bind to Hb as a result of carbon monoxide it will reduce oxygen delivery to tissue.

When body tissues do not have enough oxygen it causes a serious condition called hypoxia. Smokers can have as much as 10 times as much carbon monoxide in their bloodstream as non-smokers. Exposure to large quantities of carbon monoxide is fatal. Tar is a mixture of the compounds in cigarette smoke which condensate turn from a gas to a solid once in the lungs to form a sticky brown substance, this is the cigarette smoke condensate.

Tar is the part of cigarette smoke which causes the yellow-brown stains on teeth and fingers. Tar is made of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and a wide range other chemicals. These chemicals have short and long term effects on health. The short term effects include coughing and shortness of breath.

The detrimental long term effects of tar have been known since the s when tumours grew on mice after their skin had been painted with the tar from cigarettes.

The chemicals in tar are the main causes of lung and throat cancer among smokers. Part of the cancer causing effect of tar is because it interferes with immune cell cycle progression which results in significant reductions in immune responses. This in turn increases the incidence of tumours and respiratory tract infections.