The Interesting Ingredients of a Cigarette

We all know they are cancer causing and bad for health, yet millions spend $5+ for a pack of cigarettes every week, if not more, for a habit that kills them, literally. I don't know what other argument would be more persuasive for someone to stop.

Cigarette companies put some interesting things into the tobacco, things to improve the flavor like, bergamot oil, fenugreek extract, ethyl vanilla, tangerine oil, cinnamon oil, coffee extract, corn syrup. Ingredients that do have an impact on the smoker, include: menthol for a cool, minty taste and anesthetic effects. This helps smoker novices and provides a "medicinal" feeling. Sugar is added to make the smoke more inhalable but more importantly, boosting the addictiveness of it.Who would have thought?

Companies actually seldom add nicotine, the addictive drug that makes stopping so very hard. However, they do add ammonia to make the drug "free base", akin to crack nicotine. Also, Levulinic acid is added to increase the drug's impact on the brain. Cocoa is added for aroma but it is also a type of bronchodilator, which helps open up the lungs to welcome the smoke. It preps the smoker to get all the effects of smoke. They also add sodium or postassium citrates to make the cigarette burn faster. If they burn faster, they go faster, the smoker needs them more often and spends to get them.

Tobacco companies are sneaky, for sure. They sell six trillion every year, which comes out to 300 million miles. One could create a string of cigarettes from Earth to the Sun and back and STILL make a connection to Mars!