Wednesday, October 3, 2012


New Studies Show Tobacco is More Toxic Than We Thought
If you’ve thought about quitting smoking, you've got more reason than ever.
Cigarettes are even more hazardous than labels would have you believe. And in this instance, what you don’t know CAN hurt you!
Researchers in Spain looked at ten of their top-selling commercial cigarette brands: three Spanish labels and seven out of the UK or US.  They studied Camel, Chesterfield, Ducados, Fortuna, John Player, L&M, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Nobel, and Winston.
They observed the similarities and differences between the different products.
What they found out is something the tobacco companies may not want you to know…
They discovered that tobacco contains highly toxic compounds. Maybe that doesn’t seem like earth-shattering news.  But here’s the kicker…
These deadly substances are not regulated by law! 
The law only requires that manufacturers list three substances on cigarette packs. Those are the amounts of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. The law also limits how much of these compounds are allowed.  However, cigarettes contain other very harmful substances not covered by any kind of legislation. Just who exactly is regulating these guys?
A group of chemical engineers from University of Alicante carried out the investigation.
First, each pack was machine-smoked. Then, the team analyzed the mainstream smoke. Not surprisingly, they discovered all brands contained cancer-causing compounds.  But…
Some brands contained more harmful substances than others. But the researchers did not indicate which brands gave which results.  It’s just one more reason you should stay away from all of them.
Nicotine levels also varied. It actually doubled from one brand to another. In fact, one brand exceeded the limit established by law.  Sort of makes all of those “warning” labels seem pointless, no?
"In fact, although nicotine is responsible for the addiction, it is not the most harmful part of the cigarette,” says lead researcher María Isabel Beltrán. "Of the more than 3,000 compounds in tobacco, there are many which are worse.” And now we know that there are many you never even hear about.
The ten tobacco products used in the study may appear similar. But the highly-toxic and carcinogenic compounds vary considerably from one brand to another, explains Beltrán.
Their findings are published in the latest Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Bottom line…
If you’ve ever thought about quitting, there’s never been a better time.
But once again, you’d have a hard time finding a solution from your doctor.
You might walk away with a prescription for a smoking cessation drug.  But unless you don’t mind side effects like suicidal thoughts, depression, or violent behavior, I’d suggest you stay away.
But there is a natural solution…

1 comment:

  1. The headline is so scary, especially to tobacco users. However, there is one way to help yourself get that nicotine fix sans the help of tobacco and that's the use of electronic cigarettes.

    ReplyDelete