Cigarette Tar

"Tar” is scientifically defined as the, “resinous partially combusted and healed particulate matter produced by the burning of tobacco and other plant material in the act of smoking.” Cigarette tar is basically the substance left over after the contents of a cigarette has been burned or partially burned. This tar can contain many different FDA approved chemicals, additives and other substances, but it also contains the chemical compounds created after these chemicals have been burned. Just a small sampling of these added chemicals include:

• Ammonia – added to make nicotine absorb more quickly into tissues
• Fungicides and pesticides – responsible for many types of cancers
• Cadmium – linked to lung and prostate cancer
• Benzene - linked to leukemia
• Formaldehyde - a preservative linked to lung cancer
• Nickel
• Butane
  and
• Formaldehyde

While some of these chemicals are burned off (and there are hundreds of other chemicals not included in this list) many others are left behind as tar. These are considered to have the most carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke.

Cigarettes are one of the few consumer products that do not have a list of ingredients on the label. The reason for this is that cigarette companies got around disclosure of these ingredients by submitting the list of ingredients to a government agency instead of to the consumer. Smokers essentially inhale a chemical factory that contains substances that are unknown to everyone but the cigarette manufacturers and one department of the federal government.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_(tobacco_residue)
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/whatsinit.htm

Photo: Akroti, Wikimedia. No endorsement implied. For license information visit:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en

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