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As smokers, little attention is paid to the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes or chose to ignore them. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals with at least 400 poisonous and more than 50, cancer-causing ones.

Nicotine
Nicotine is a strong poisonous and addictive drug.

Tar
Tar is a black and sticky residue used to cover road surfaces. It clogs up the lungs and causes lung cancer.


Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide interferes with our respiratory (breathing) and circulatory (heart, arteries, and veins) systems. Other harmful chemicals found in cigarettes smoke:

Arsenic
Deadly poison found in rat poison.
It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke. Can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, headaches, unconsciousness.

DDT
A pesticide used to kill insects.

Formaldehyde
Chemical used in preserving dead bodies. Known to cause cancer, gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin problems.

Second hand smoke, Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) consists of both mainstream and sidestream smoke with each contributing 15% and 85% respectively.
Some numbers on the amount of chemicals released into the environment via Sidestream smoke from cigarette:
Carbon monoxide - 15 times higher
Nicotine - 21 times higher
Cancer causing substance - Up to 130 times higher
Irritant substance - up to 170 times higher

Second hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) can cause short term health problems and discomfort, including nasal discomfort, eye irritation, headaches among others. Non-smoking pregnant mothers who are near smokers also place their babies at high risk.