Smoking

What is “smoking” tobacco?

Smoking tobacco comes from the leaves and other parts of the tobacco plant. The dried leaves, plus a variety of additives, are used in cigarettes, pipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, bidis and clove cigarettes. When tobacco is burned, the smoke is made up of carbon monoxide, chemicals and droplets of tar. Tobacco smoke also contains tiny droplets of nicotine, an oily liquid.

Why is tobacco smoke harmful?

Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and at least 50 of them have been proven to cause cancer. About half of the 4,000 chemicals are found in the tobacco leaf. The other half are made by chemical reactions when the tobacco is burned. Here are a few of the most dangerous chemicals found in tobacco smoke:

• formaldehyde (embalming fluid)
• arsenic (poison)
• hydrogen cyanide (poison)
• methanol (wood alcohol)
• acetylene (the fuel used in welding torches)
• carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas)
• nicotine (a poisonous and highly addictive drug)

Who’s smoking?

Less than 20 per cent of Canadians (aged 15 and over) smoke. Smoking rates are slightly higher in Alberta than they are in the rest of Canada. Aboriginal people (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) have higher smoking rates than the rest of the population of Canada. Males, blue-collar workers and people with a lower level of formal education are other groups that have higher rates of smoking.

Most smokers start when they are teenagers. In fact, over 30 per cent of smokers start before age 15. In a survey, almost two-thirds of smokers said they started to smoke because their friends smoked.

Who’s not smoking?

Over 80 per cent of all Canadians don’t smoke. Smoking rates have been going down in Canada since 1965 when the health effects of smoking were first made public. Today there are more Canadians who have quit smoking than there are smokers. There are also more former smokers than current smokers in Alberta.

Five myths about smoking

MYTH: Cigars and pipe tobacco are safer to smoke than cigarettes.

FACT: There are no “safe” forms of tobacco. Pipe and cigar smoke contain many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as cigarette smoke. All cigar and pipe smokers are at risk for oral cancer and cancer of the larynx (voice box) and esophagus. They are also at risk for other tobacco-related diseases.

MYTH: I won’t get cancer from smoking if I don’t inhale.

FACT: Even if you don’t inhale when you smoke cigars, pipe tobacco or cigarettes, you are still at risk for mouth, tongue and lip cancers. All smokers, including those who don’t inhale, are at risk from toxins in second-hand smoke (SHS). Second-hand smoke includes the smoke you blow out of your mouth and the smoke from the end of the cigar, cigarette or pipe.

MYTH: Herbal cigarettes, clove cigarettes and bidis are safe alternatives to regular cigarettes.

FACT: Some smokers try substituting herbal or clove cigarettes for their regular brands. Neither are healthy alternatives. Herbal cigarettes pose a health risk in two ways: they generate carbon monoxide and tar, and smoke from any plant product can damage the lungs and airways.

Bidis are small, hand-rolled cigarettes. They consist of tobacco that is bundled in a tendu or temburni leaf and bound tightly with a coloured thread. They come in a variety of flavours, including chocolate, strawberry, licorice and grape. Their flavours are youth-friendly, but their contents aren’t. Bidis generally contain five times as much tar and three times as much carbon monoxide and nicotine as name brand cigarettes.

MYTH: “Light” or “mild” cigarettes are safer to smoke than regular cigarettes.

FACT: Many smokers buy light and ultra-light cigarettes as a step toward cutting down or quitting smoking. They may believe that light cigarettes are less damaging because they have lower amounts of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. But the amounts indicated on the side of the package are misleading.

Tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels are based on measurements taken by a smoking machine. But researchers have learned that smoking machines don’t actually represent the way people smoke.

Light cigarettes have tiny air holes cut into the filter. These holes allow air to enter the filter and dilute the smoke. But smokers often cover up these holes with their fingers or lips. As a result, the yield of toxins is much higher than the levels recorded on the side of the cigarette package.

Because smokers still crave the same amount of nicotine they would get from regular cigarettes, they also tend to smoke light cigarettes differently than they would regular cigarettes. They may take in more toxins by smoking more cigarettes, taking more puffs or smoking the cigarette down to the filter.

MYTH: I only harm myself if I choose to smoke.

FACT: Tobacco smoke can harm others too.

One in five Canadians has a pre-existing lung, heart or allergic condition that can be aggravated when they are exposed to SHS.

In fact anyone (smoker or non-smoker) who is regularly exposed to SHS is at increased risk for developing serious health problems.

Children are particularly vulnerable to SHS because their lungs are still growing and developing. Young children of parents who smoke are twice as likely to suffer from serious respiratory infection requiring hospitalization. SHS also causes other respiratory conditions, including coughs, colds, tonsillitis and adenoid problems.

Smoking can also harm children before they are born. Smoking during pregnancy puts the health of you and your child at risk.

Want to know more?

For more information contact your local AADAC office or call the AADAC Help Line at 1-866-33AADAC (Alberta only).