Essay - Tobacco Smoke Contains About 4,000 Chemicals; Out of These, Approximately...

Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals; out of these, approximately 60 are known or suspected carcinogens, i.e., cancer-causing agents ("Cig*****tte Smoking and Cancer") Some ***** these substances such as carbon monoxide, tar, arsenic, benzene, nicotine ***** lead are also highly poisonous and prove toxic f***** the human body. Out of these, nicotine is the main addiction-causing drug which is naturally present in ***** tobacco plant (Ibid.).

Tobacco is not only harmful for the person who directly smokes it but ***** other people who breath in the smoke indirectly through passive smoking. This is because the human blood has been shown to be very sensitive to even low doses of tobacco smoke. Children whose p*****nts are smokers and unborn children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy are primarily at risk. One study found that in households where both parents smoke, young children have a 72% incre*****sed ***** of respiratory illnesses and are more likely to ***** admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia in the first year of life ("Q& A: Passive Smok*****g). Similarly, babies born to women who ***** during pregnancy have about 30% higher odds ***** being born prematurely; ***** ***** to be born underweight—increasing their risk for illness; and are 1.4 to 3 times more likely to die of Sudden Death Syndrome ("Tobacco Use ***** Pregnancy")

Tobacco smoking is one of the major risk fac*****rs in the occurrence ***** Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Nicotine, for example, is known to constrict blood vessels resulting in increased ***** pressure and also causes increase in circulating fatty acids, total cholesterol and triglycerides—all of which contribute to heart disease. Interference of nicotine with ***** immune system further aggravates the chances ***** cardio-vascular *****. ("High Blood Pressure") Carbon monoxide, another constituent of ***** smoke, latches on to the red blood cells reducing ***** ability to carry oxygen to the heart muscles and other parts of the body. It also causes thickening of the blood ***** can lead to a greater likelihood of clotting ***** ***** risk of *****.

Works Cited

Cigarette Smoking and Cancer: Questi*****s and Answers." National ***** Institute: Fact Sheet. 11/4/2004. March 8, 2008. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cancer

*****, Stephen S. "Tobacco Smoke Carcinogens ***** Lung Cancer." Journal of the ***** ***** *****, Vol. 91, No. *****, 1194-1210, July 21, 1999. ***** 8, *****. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/*****/14/1194

High ***** Pressure: Tips to Stop the Silent Killer." University ***** Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). June 27, 2007. March 8, 2008. http://www.umm.edu/features/blood_*****.htm

Q&A: Passive Smoking." BBC News World Edition. October 18, 2004. March 8, 200*****. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/*****235820.stm

Tobacco Use and Pregnancy." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Department of Health and Human Services. 10/2/ 07. March 8, 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Tobacco**********/

Prominent ***** present in tobacco ***** that have been shown to cause lung tumors ***** laboratory animals ***** *****s are polycyclic aromatic hydro*****s (PAHs) and nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) (Hecht,