Cigarette smoke contains over 4,700 chemical compounds including 60 known carcinogens. No threshold level of exposure to cigarette smoke has been defined but there is conclusive evidence to indicate that long-term (years) smoking greatly increases the likelihood of developing numerous fatal conditions.
The following tables, sourced from US Surgeon General Reports on the Health Consequences of smoking summarise the toxic components of cigarettes.
| Agent | Toxic | Ciliotoxic | Carcinogenic | Co-carcinogenic / Promoter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Monoxide | x | |||
| Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) | x | |||
| Hydrogen Cyanide | x | x | ||
| Formaldehyde | x | x | ||
| Acrolein | x | |||
| Acetaldehyde | x | |||
| Ammonia | x | |||
| Hydrazine | x | |||
| Vinyl Chloride | x | |||
| Urethane | x | |||
| 2-Nitropropane | x | |||
| Quinoline | x | |||
| Benzo[a]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,h]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[b]fluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[j]fluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[a,h]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[a,i]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,j]acridine | x | x | ||
| Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[c]phenanthrene | x | x | ||
| Benz[a]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Benzo[e]pyrene | x | x | ||
| Chrysene | x | x | ||
| Methylchrysene | x | x | ||
| Mehtylfluoranthene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,c]anthracene | x | x | ||
| Dibenz[a,h]acridine | x | x | ||
| Dibenzo[c,g]carbazole | x | x | ||
| Mehtylnaphtalenes | x | |||
| 1-Methylindoles | x | |||
| Dichlorostilbene | x | |||
| Catechol | x | |||
| 3-Methycatechol | x | |||
| 4-Methycatechol | x | |||
| 4-Ethycatechol | x | |||
| 4-n-Propylcatechol | x | |||
| Nitrosodimethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosoethymethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodiethylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodi-n-propylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosodi-n-butylamine | x | |||
| Nitrosopyrrolidine | x | |||
| Nitrosopiperidine | x | |||
| Nitrosomorpholine | x | |||
| N’-Nitrosonornicotine | x | |||
| 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone | x | |||
| N’-Nitrosoanabasine | x | |||
| N’-Nitrosoanatabine | x | |||
| Aromatic Amines | x | |||
| Aromatic Nitrohydrocarbons | x | |||
| Polonium-210 | x | |||
| Nickel | x | |||
| Arsenic | x | |||
| Cadmium | x | |||
