Cigarettes - Bad For You, Bad For the Environment

By now, everyone knows that cigarettes are pretty bad for you. Not only are they packed with carcinogens like tar, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, but they can increase the risk of various cancers. There's also nicotine - most people believe this is a harmless aspect of a cigarette, but actually the addictive substance increases the levels of cholesterol within the body. According to netdoctor.co.uk, 300 people a day die thanks to smoking-related illnesses, and a good number of them are actually younger smokers. Each cigarette you smoke can shorten your life by 10 minutes. Major diseases caused by smoking include cardiovascular disease, which comes as a result of the hardening of arteries, making blood clots likely to form. Depending on which arteries in your body are affected, you could be looking at a range of potentially fatal conditions. There's also cancer, and it's not just lung cancer. Mouth cancer is caused by smoking - you're four times more likely to contract it if you smoke. But smoking doesn't just hurt smokers - it hurts the environment too. Breathing smoke According to this article, the air pollution which is emitted by 10 cigarettes is greater than that emitted by a diesel car exhaust. An experiment was conducted in which a 2 litre turbo diesel engine was revved up and left to run for 30 minutes in a closed garage, and then the doors were left open for four hours. Then, three filter cigarettes were lit up one after the other. Readings of pollution levels were taken every 2 minutes. The readings revealed that in the first hour after the engine had started, combined particulate (the pollutants which make up cigarette smoke) levels were 88ug/m3. In the first hour after the cigarettes had been lit, it measured 830 ug/m3. That's around ten times greater. Surely one cigarette won't hurt? A cigarette typically emits between 7 and 23 milligrams of PM2.5 during smoking time. A PM2.5 is a particulate matter which is less than 2.5 mm across, and enter deep into the lungs to cause some serious health problems. This is why passive smoking is such an issue. It's something that needs to be considered by anyone looking to quit. Taking an electronic cigarette is a much better alternative, as there are no harmful emissions that hurt the environment. Also, the batteries are rechargeable so you don't have to worry about adding to landfill. And what are they usually made of? Recyclable material. James Dunworth from ecigarettedirect.co.uk said: "Research has shown that cigarette smoke causes 10 times more pollution than diesel fumes. In contrast to cigarettes, no combustion takes place in electronic cigarettes, and no smoke is produced, what is produced is vapour which is estimated to be around 99% safer than tobacco smoke." It's definitely something to think about. Related Posts: Green For Facade But Allowing Smoking China Researchers Using Cigar Toxins For Saving Pipes Prevent Indoor Pollution For A Healthy Home How You Can Do Your Part To Minimize The Overabundance Of Litter? The Way Towards A Green Beach