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The worlds view on smoking cigarettes has changed dramatically over the last century. The

habit was once considered to be cool, sexy, good for your health, and widely enjoyed by many

people. It was promoted by sportsmen, and advertised all over television. No one could be seen

acting in a movie without a lit cigarette in their hand! Today, smoking is considered to be a nasty

addictive habit that can kill you and those around you. You wont find them advertised anywhere

nor will you see anyone smoking inside a public building. It seems that these days smokers are

considered to be anti-social and are often frowned at if seen smoking outside in crowded places.

Below is a list of interesting facts about cigarettes.

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1. Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with approximately 1 trillionbeing sold from country to country each year. At a global take of more than $400 billion,its one of the worlds largest industries.

2. The nicotine content in several major brands is reportedly on the rise. HarvardUniversity and the Massachusetts Health Department revealed that between 1997 and2005 the amount of nicotine in Camel, Newport, and Doral cigarettes may have increasedby as much as 11 percent.

3. In 1970, President Nixon signed the law that placed warning labels on cigarettes andbanned television advertisements for cigarettes. The last date that cigarette ads werepermitted on TV was extended by a day, from December 31, 1970 to January 1, 1971 toallow the television networks one last cash windfall from cigarette advertising in the NewYears Day football games.

4. U.S. cigarette manufacturers now make more money selling cigarettes to countriesaround the globe than they do selling to Americans.

5. The American brands Marlboro, Kool, Camel and Kent own roughly 70% of the globalcigarette market.

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6. Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxide,carbon monoxide, ammonia and 43 known carcinogens.

7. In the early 1950s, the Kent brand of cigarettes used crocidolite asbestos as part of thefilter, a known active carcinogen.

8. Urea, a chemical compound that is a majorcomponent in urine, is used to add flavorto cigarettes.

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9. The Cork Tip filter was originally invented in 1925 by Hungarian inventor Boris

Aivaz, who patented the process of making the cigarette filter from crepe paper. All kindsof filters were tested, although cork is unlikely to have been one of them.

10. In most countries around the world, the legal age for the purchase of tobacco products

is now 18, raised from 16, while in Japan the age minimum is 20 years old.

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11. Contrary to popular social belief, it is NOT illegal to smoke tobacco products at anyage. Parents are within the law to allow minors to smoke, and minors are within the lawto smoke tobacco products freely. However, the SALE of tobacco products is highlyregulated with legal legislation.

12. Smoking bans in many parts of the world have been employed as a means to stopsmokers smoking in public. As a result, many social businesses have claimed a

significant drop in the number of people who go out to pubs, bars and restaurants.

13. Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 14 years of their life due to smoking.This however does not necessarily mean that a smoker will die youngand they may stilllive out a normal lifespan.

14. The U.S. states with the highest percentage of smokers are Kentucky (28.7%),Indiana (27.3%), and Tennessee (26.8%), while the states with the fewest are Utah(11.5%), California ( 15.2%), and Connecticut (16.5%).

15. Cigarettes can contain more than 4,000 ingredients, which, when burned, can also

produce over 200 compound chemicals. Many of these compounds have been linkedto lung damage.

16. The United States is the only major cigarette market in the world in which thepercentage of women smoking cigarettes (22%) comes close to the number of men whosmoke (35%). Europe has a slightly larger gap (46% of men smoke, 26% of womensmoke), while most other regions have few women smokers. The stats: Africa (29% ofmen smoke, 4% of women smoke); Southeast Asia (44% of men, 4% of women),Western Pacific (60% of men, 8% of women)

17. Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found

in every part of the body and in breast milk.

18. Sugar approximates to roughly 20% of a cigarette, and many diabetics are unaware ofthis secret sugar intake. Also, the effect of burning sugar is unknown.

19. Lite cigarettes are produced by infusing tobacco with CO2 and superheating it until

the tobacco puffs up like expanding foam. The expanded tobacco then fills the same

paper tube as regular tobacco.

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20. Smokers draw on lite and menthol cigarettes harder (on average) than regular

cigarettes; causing the same overall levels of tar and nicotine to be consumed.

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21. Lite cigarettes are manufactured with airholes around the filter to aerate the smokeas it is drawn in. Many smokers have learned to cover these holes with their fingers ortheir lips to get a stronger hit.

22. The immune systems of smokers has to work harder every day than non-smokers. Asa result, a smokers blood will contain less antioxidants, although a smokers immunesystem may be quicker to respond to virus attacks due to its more active nature.

23. Smokers often smoke after meals to allow food to digest easier. In fact, this worksbecause the bodies priority moves away from the digestion of food in favor of protecting

the blood cells and flushing toxins from the brain.

24. Some people (mostly males) can be aroused by the sight of smoker smoking (usuallyfemales). This is called the Smoking Fetish, and affects a small number of the population.As with most fetishes, the reason for this arousal can usually be traced back to incidentsin childhood. However, cigarettesparticularly menthols, force blood away from thepenis if smoked while aroused.

25. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 25% of cigarettes soldaround the world are smuggled.

26. Most smokers take up the habit in their mid teens, well before the legal age forpurchasing them, and is seen as a right of passage towards adulthood. Other perceivedrights of passage include: aftershave, wearing stilettos, alcohol, drugs and sexualintercourse; with a combination of these sometimes being cited as the main causes ofteenage pregnancy.

27. Smoking tobacco is the ultimate gateway drug in that it is legally available, andinvolves mastering a unique method of intakemuch more so than alcohol (which hassuch a significant effect that users need look no further for stimulation). Smokers lookingto get high will very rarely do so from cigarettes after the initial stages of taking up thehabit.

28. Smokers generally report a variety of after-effects; such as calmness, relaxation,alertness, stimulation, concentration and many others. In fact, smoking will produce adifferent effect in each individual depending on what they expect to get; turning thecigarette into the worlds most popular placebo (satisfying the brains hunger for nicotinebeing the only relaxing factor). The smoker will then use these expectations as a meansto continue the habit.

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29. Several active ingredients and special methods of production are involved in makingsure the nicotine in a cigarette is many times more potent than that of a tobacco plant.

30. Toppings are added to the blended tobacco mix to add flavor and a taste unique tothe manufacturer. Some of these toppings have included; clove, licorice, orange oil,

apricot stone, lime oil, lavender oil, dill seed oil, cocoa, carrot oil, mace oil, myrrh, beetjuice, bay leaf, oak, rum, vanilla, and vinegar.

Contributor: Lifeschool