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There are about seventy toxic substances in a cigarette, from nicotine, which is found in the tobacco plant itself, to carbon monoxide produced when it is lit. It is the same component that emits the exhaust pipes of a car. In addition, it also contains benzene or cadmium, carcinogenic substances. From the Joe Biden government, they seek to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to make them less addictive.
Joe Biden came to the White House with a purpose: to cut cancer deaths in the United States in half in 25 years. One of his proposals came to light on June 21 and consists of limiting the nicotine contained in cigarettes so that fewer and fewer people smoke.
Tobacco remains one of the main causes of cancer in the North American country. In addition, it is the first factor in preventable deaths: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking takes the lives of 480,000 people a year prematurely.
That is why the Democratic Administration seeks to take this measure, which has not yet been approved, but which could prevent 33 million people from becoming habitual smokers, by being able to better combat the addiction caused by nicotine.
What does a cigarette contain?
Nicotine is the substance that reaches the brain when smoking and that produces pleasant sensations, creating a cycle of addiction in which the body feels bad if it refrains from receiving it. It is found in the tobacco plant, which is then ground up to make cigarettes. However, nicotine by itself is not a carcinogenic compound.
On the other hand, the tobacco plant itself can contain carcinogenic elements that can be found in the soil where it grows, such as cadmium or lead, and that are released when there is combustion.
When it comes to manufacturing cigarettes, there are more toxic components that are added, but also some that occur naturally. During the process of curing and drying tobacco, different nitrosamines are generated, which are carcinogenic. In addition, sugars are added to make the product more appetizing, but when burned they also become substances that can cause cancer.
Producers also add substances such as ammonia during the process of creating cigarettes, which accelerates the process of absorbing nicotine and increases the addictive capacity of tobacco.
Finally, the combustion process that occurs at the moment of lighting the cigarette is what releases and transforms another series of chemical components: for example, it produces carbon monoxide, the same gas that cars release through the exhaust pipe, or benzene, a component obtained from tar. Carbon monoxide is not carcinogenic but it can develop other lung diseases such as chronic obstruction of these organs, while benzene is considered carcinogenic.
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