Top 10 Disgusting Facts about Cigarettes

As people become more concerned of their health, the perceptions on cigarettes have dramatically changed. Before, smoking is considered a cool, sexy and pleasurable habit. Sportsmen and movie stars advertised them. TV endorsements are rampant and very bold. Tobacco manufacturers use teenagers and even children to promote their products. But now, people are starting to look at cigarettes as the worst drug ever. Smoking ban policies have been carried out in various countries. Laws concerning advertisements, packaging, cost, and distribution have been tightened.

But even though America had a decline in the smoking rate, it still affects 20% of the population. It still kills thousands of people in the country every year.

Search the web and you will find a plethora of information about smoking and how it damages your health. There are hundreds of them. On this post, we summarize them all to bring you the top 10 most disgusting facts about cigarettes.

 1.  Tobacco is the most traded-item in the world.

Cigarette manufacturing is among the largest industries in the world. It’s really ironic how a dangerous drug has become this popular. Approximately 1 trillion of cigarettes are sold from one country to another and manufacturers earn an average of $400 billion a year!

 2.  Tobacco contains a substance found in urine.

How do you find this fact? Truly disgusting! Cigarettes contain urea, a chemical compound found in urine to add flavor.

 3. United States is the only country where the population of female smokers is very close to that of male smokers.

Women constitute 25% of the smoking population in the US while men constitute 35%. Europe comes next there is a wider gap – 26% women and 46% men. Most countries have less number of women who smoke.

 4.  25% of cigarettes sold in the world are smuggled.

Considering the fact that tobacco manufacturing is among the biggest and most prosperous industries on earth, why the heck does a significant percentage of tobacco products are being smuggled?

 5. Tobacco products undergo plenty of manufacturing methods to ensure nicotine potency.

If tobacco manufacturers will not invest on enhancing the nicotine contents in cigarettes, who will buy their products? These companies target people on their Achilles heels. They know the human mind cannot simply resist the withdrawal pang associated with smoking. So they add more harmful chemicals to make the nicotine more potent and naturally addictive.

 6.  Smoker has fewer antioxidants in their body.

The body automatically reacts to foreign substances by releasing antibodies to fight off potential infection or disease. A smoker’s body has to work double time to fight off the harmful effects of smoking, causing a decline in the antioxidant levels in their body. As a result, their bodies become less vulnerable to diseases.

 7.  Nursing moms transfer nicotine to their children through their breast milk.

Disgusting isn’t it? At their tender age, babies may already be exposed to nicotine. That’s how terrible it can be. Nicotine reaches the brain in 10 seconds. It also goes to other parts of the body. Researchers found nicotine in the breast milk of smoking moms.

8.  90% of lung cancer cases in the world are due to smoking.

Tobacco contains over 4,000 chemicals and most of them are known to harm the lungs.

 9.  Cigarettes contain asbestos.

Some cigarette brands contain asbestos, a highly dangerous chemical compound that is a known carcinogen.

 10.  In every eight seconds, a life is destroyed.

This is equivalent to 5 million deaths around the world every year.