The world’s view on smoking cigarettes has changed dramatically over
the last century. The habit was once considered to be cool, sexy, good
for your health, and widely enjoyed by many people. It was promoted by
sportsmen, and advertised all over television. No one could be seen
acting in a movie without a lit cigarette in their hand! Today, smoking
is considered to be a nasty addictive habit that can kill you and those
around you. You wont find them advertised anywhere – nor will you see
anyone smoking inside a public building. It seems that these days
smokers are considered to be anti-social and are often frowned at if
seen smoking outside in crowded places. Below is a list of interesting
facts about cigarettes.
1. Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with
approximately 1 trillion being sold from country to country each year.
At a global take of more than $400 billion, it’s one of the world’s
largest industries.
2. The nicotine content in several major brands is reportedly on the
rise. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Health Department
revealed that between 1997 and 2005 the amount of nicotine in Camel,
Newport, and Doral cigarettes may have increased by as much as 11
percent.
3. In 1970, President Nixon signed the law that placed warning labels
on cigarettes and banned television advertisements for cigarettes. The
last date that cigarette ads were permitted on TV was extended by a day,
from December 31, 1970 to January 1, 1971 to allow the television
networks one last cash windfall from cigarette advertising in the New
Year’s Day football games.
4. U.S. cigarette manufacturers now make
more money selling cigarettes to countries around the globe than they
do selling to Americans.
5. The American brands Marlboro, Kool, Camel and Kent own roughly 70% of the global cigarette market.
6. Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide,
nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and 43 known carcinogens.
7. In the early 1950s, the Kent brand of cigarettes used crocidolite asbestos as part of the filter, a known active carcinogen.
8. Urea, a chemical compound that is a major component in urine, is used to add “flavor” to cigarettes.
9. The ‘Cork Tip’ filter was originally invented in 1925 by Hungarian
inventor Boris Aivaz, who patented the process of making the cigarette
filter from crepe paper. All kinds of filters were tested, although
‘cork’ is unlikely to have been one of them.
10. In most countries around the world, the legal age for the
purchase of tobacco products is now 18, raised from 16, while in Japan
the age minimum is 20 years old.
11. Contrary to popular social belief, it is NOT illegal to smoke
tobacco products at any age. Parents are within the law to allow minors
to smoke, and minors are within the law to smoke tobacco products
freely. However, the SALE of tobacco products is highly regulated with
legal legislation.
12. Smoking bans in many parts of the world have been employed as a
means to stop smokers smoking in public. As a result, many social
businesses have claimed a significant drop in the number of people who
go out to pubs, bars and restaurants.
13. Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 14 years of their
life due to smoking. This however does not necessarily mean that a
smoker will die young – and they may still live out a ‘normal’ lifespan.
14. The U.S. states with the highest percentage of smokers are
Kentucky (28.7%), Indiana (27.3%), and Tennessee (26.8%), while the
states with the fewest are Utah (11.5%), California ( 15.2%), and
Connecticut (16.5%).
15. Cigarettes can contain more than 4,000 ingredients, which, when
burned, can also produce over 200 ‘compound’ chemicals. Many of these
‘compounds’ have been linked to lung damage.
16. The United States is the only major cigarette market in the world
in which the percentage of women smoking cigarettes (22%) comes close
to the number of men who smoke (35%). Europe has a slightly larger gap
(46% of men smoke, 26% of women smoke), while most other regions have
few women smokers. The stats: Africa (29% of men smoke, 4% of women
smoke); Southeast Asia (44% of men, 4% of women), Western Pacific (60%
of men, 8% of women)
17. Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is
inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.
18. Sugar approximates to roughly 20% of a cigarette, and many
diabetics are unaware of this secret sugar intake. Also, the effect of
burning sugar is unknown.
19. ‘Lite’ cigarettes are produced by infusing tobacco with CO2 and
superheating it until the tobacco ‘puffs up’ like expanding foam. The
expanded tobacco then fills the same paper tube as ‘regular’ tobacco.
20. Smokers draw on ‘lite’ and menthol cigarettes harder (on average)
than regular cigarettes; causing the same overall levels of tar and
nicotine to be consumed.
21. ‘Lite’ cigarettes are manufactured with air holes around the
filter to aerate the smoke as it is drawn in. Many smokers have learned
to cover these holes with their fingers or their lips to get a stronger
hit.
22. The immune systems of smokers has to work harder every day than
non-smokers. As a result, a smokers’ blood will contain less
antioxidants, although a smokers immune system may be quicker to respond
to virus attacks due to its more active nature.
23. Smokers often smoke after meals to ‘allow food to digest easier’.
In fact, this works because the bodies priority moves away from the
digestion of food in favor of protecting the blood cells and flushing
toxins from the brain.
24. Some people (mostly males) can be aroused by the sight of smoker
smoking (usually females). This is called the Smoking Fetish, and
affects a small number of the population. As with most fetishes, the
reason for this arousal can usually be traced back to incidents in
childhood. However, cigarettes – particularly menthols, force blood
away from the penis if smoked while aroused.
25. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 25% of cigarettes sold around the world are smuggled.
26. Most smokers take up the habit in their mid teens, well before
the legal age for purchasing them, and is seen as a right of passage
towards adulthood. Other perceived rights of passage include:
aftershave, wearing stilettos, alcohol, drugs and sexual intercourse;
with a combination of these sometimes being cited as the main causes of
teenage pregnancy.
27. Smoking tobacco is the ultimate gateway drug in that it is
legally available, and involves mastering a unique method of intake –
much more so than alcohol (which has such a significant effect that
users need look no further for stimulation). Smokers looking to get
‘high’ will very rarely do so from cigarettes after the initial stages
of taking up the habit.
28. Smokers generally report a variety of after-effects; such as
calmness, relaxation, alertness, stimulation, concentration and many
others. In fact, smoking will produce a different effect in each
individual depending on ‘what they expect to get’; turning the cigarette
into the worlds most popular placebo (satisfying the brains hunger for
nicotine being the only ‘relaxing’ factor). The smoker will then use
these expectations as a means to continue the habit.
29. Several active ingredients and special methods of production are
involved in making sure the nicotine in a cigarette is many times more
potent than that of a tobacco plant.
30. ‘Toppings’ are added to the blended tobacco mix to add flavor and
a taste unique to the manufacturer. Some of these toppings have
included; clove, licorice, orange oil, apricot stone, lime oil, lavender
oil, dill seed oil, cocoa, carrot oil, mace oil, myrrh, beet juice, bay
leaf, oak, rum, vanilla, and vinegar.
Contributor: Lifeschool
