Tobacco cigarettes actually contain alot of highly harmful substances even long-term smokers don't know about. According to the Cancer Research UK site, among the 4000 harmful chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, some of them are:
Ammonia (Toilet Cleaner)
It is used as a flavouring and helps free the nicotine from tobacco and turning it into a gas. Helps you absorb more nicotine, keeping you hooked. Found in dry cleaning fluids.
Benzene (Pesticide/Petrol Additive)
This is a colourless cyclic hydrocarbon which is obtained from coal and petroleum, used as a solvent in fuel and chemical manufacture. It is contained in cigarette smoke. Known to be highly carcinogenic and linked to leukaemia.
Acetone (Nail Polish Remover)
Fragrant volatile liquid ketone which is used as a solvent, for example in nail polish remover. It is found in cigarette smoke.
Formaldehyde (Embalming Fluid)
A colourless highly poisonous liquid, used to preserve dead bodies - also found in cigarette smoke. Known to cause a severe problems such as cancer, respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems.
Tar (Roads)
Particulate matter drawn into lungs when you inhale on a lighted cigarette. Once this is inhaled, smoke condenses and about 70 per cent of the tar in the smoke is deposited in the smoker's lungs.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
A group of dangerous DNA-damaging chemicals which set cells on the road to becoming tumors.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) (Car Exhaust Fumes)
An odourless, tasteless and poisonous gas, rapidly fatal in large amounts - it's the same gas that comes out of car exhausts and is the main gas in cigarette smoke and formed when the cigarette is lit.
Lead (Paint)
A dense metal with many industrial uses such as paint. Highly toxic, it stunts your growth, makes you vomit and damages your brain. Others you may recognize are :
Arsenic (rat poison), Hydrogen Cyanide (gas chamber poison)
In 2008, toxological tests were performed on electronic cigarettes and they were found to be much less harmful than thetobacco cigarettes. Further scientific tests in 2009 have shown them to be safe.
It's important to note that only electronic cigarettes which have had rigorous testing done on them can be considered safe. Just make sure that when you buy an electronic cigarette that it's an official brand like Gamucci, Milano or Njoy. Recently, there have been many cheap and untested Chinese imitations flooding the market. These imitations can potentially be extremely hazardous to your health so we would advise you not to buy them!
Electronic cigarettes are rechargeable and refillable so you'll save a fortune in the long run.
You can use the electronic cigarettes to smoke in areas with a smoking ban.
There is no flame, no tobacco and no nasty carcinogens so you can smoke without harming others around you, and places where smoking is banned.
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