Tobacco and Cigarette Smoking

Tobacco is the main ingredient in cigarettes. The tobacco plant, scientifically known as Nicotiana tabacum, is a plant grown for its leaves, which are smoked, chewed, or sniffed for a variety of effects. Tobacco is considered addicting because it contains the chemical nicotine. Sniffing and chewing tobacco originated in North America and Europe. It was Christopher Columbus who introduced tobacco into Europe. It then became very popular with the Portugese, Spanish, French, British, and Scandinavians.

A manufactured cigarette is made up of two main types.

· Cured types - flue cured, light and dark air cured, sun cured

· Reconstituted (stems, ribs etc) and expanded tobacco. Both of these lead to cheaper cigarettes by using less tobacco.

Cigarette additives

Cigarette manufacturers have spent many years manipulating what goes into cigarettes by using additives.

Cigarette additives types include:

· Humectants - up to 5% of the weight of a cigarette. These preserve moisture, as dry tobacco has harsh taste. Glycerol and propylene glycol are most commonly used.

·Flavour - added to counteract reductions in flavour due to filters and the use of reconstituted tobacco. Natural and synthetic flavour enhancers are used to give woody,

spicy, minty, fruity, sweet and flowery flavours. Flavours also mask the ‘harshness’

of smoking, and may help young smokers begin and continue smoking.

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco, which causes addiction among smokers. It is a highly toxic chemical, and is often used in industrial pesticides. It is regulated in all circumstances apart from in cigarettes.

Many cigarette brands use the words 'light' and 'mild' as part of their name. These cigarettes may have lower tar and nicotine readings displayed on the pack, but the tar and nicotine yield of these brands when smoked is actually much higher. These same words may also relate to taste in a smoker's mind. 'Mild' tasting cigarettes have often had flavourings and other chemicals added to the cigarette to mask the taste. It is of concern that these cigarettes may be more appealing to children and young people, because of additives such as sugar, honey, cocoa etc.

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 46.2 million US adults were current smokers in 2001. This is 22.8% of all adults, 25.2% of men, 20.7% of women - nearly 1 in every 4 people.

When broken down by race/ethnicity, the numbers were as follows:

Whites 24.0%

African Americans 22.3%

Hispanics 16.7%

American Indians/Alaska Natives 32.7%

Asian Americans 12.4%

Alarmingly, the numbers were higher in younger age groups. Almost 27% of those 18 to 24 years old were current smokers.

Nationwide, 22.9% of high school students were current smokers in 2002. White and Hispanic students were among the highest in terms of cigarette use.

Teens and young adults, many of whom would never pick up a cigarette, are smoking tobacco from a water pipe, or hookah.

The study, the first random sample of U.S. college students to address water pipe smoking, found that more than 40% of the students said they had hookah smoked and almost 10% had done so in the last 30 days. Slightly fewer students said they had smoked cigarettes.

The percentage of students who reported ever engaging in water pipe smoking was actually higher than the percentage of those who have ever smoked cigarettes. Water pipe smoking may become even more popular in the near future since many of the new smoke-free ordinances being passed by local governments exempt water pipe cafes. Water pipe smoking is going to be a crucial public-health issue that will require increased surveillance and study.

For people who want to stop smoking was invented a cigarettes with “surprise”. This invention was created by scientists from New Zealand. This invention may be a real gift for many of us. Auckland University’s specialists have developed electronic cigarette that will permit to receive nicotine without destructive effects for human body.

It looks like a usual cigarette that is set in a cigarette holder. Scientists wanted to create more realistic appearance for their invention. They provide it with diode that “shoulders” at every inhaling. Invention works very simple: removable nicotine cartridge heats during of smoking process and the steam is inhaled into human body. Device works on simple small-button battery.

The novelty costs not very expensive. It costs about 200$ and removable nicotine cartridge costs about 24 per day. The main advantages of this device is that you can smoke it everywhere – at work, clubs, restaurants, because in this case you don’t violate the ban of smoking in public places.