Most cigarettes are comprised of tobacco, paper, and a filter. The tobacco consists of chopped tobacco plant leaves, shredded reconstituted tobacco, and expanded tobacco. Reconstituted tobacco is a blend of tobacco stems and leaf waste, as well as additives and other hundreds of chemicals to enhance the taste and absorption of tobacco smoke. Expanded tobacco is tobacco that has been freeze-dried after having been saturated with Freon and ammonia gases. This allows the tobacco to expand to twice its size, producing more cigarettes. The paper has burn rings which control the speed of the burning tobacco. Burn rings slow the burning of tobacco when the smoker is not inhaling for a longer lasting cigarette, and increases the burning when the smoker is inhaling to maximize smoke intake. Chemicals in the paper prevent the cigarette from burning out after it is lit. The filter is made …show more content…
Many are added in the manufacturing process to enhance taste and allow more nicotine to be absorbed into the body, such as ammonia. When moisture is removed from the leaves, bacteria produces nitrates that react with other chemicals to produce nitrosamines, highly carcinogenic chemicals. Some exist naturally in the plant like the main ingredient, nicotine. Others like cadmium, arsenic, and chromium come from the soil and environment through pesticides and fertilizers. Sticky hairs on the plant absorb pollutants from the air such as polonium-210. These chemicals accumulate in the tobacco plant leaves and release when burned. Tobacco smoke itself has nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, cyanide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, nitrosamines, vinyl chloride, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polonium-210, lead, arsenic, and many more toxic