July 25, 2007

Tobacco Additives: The Unknown (and Potentially Deadly) Variable

my appetite is gone

Take a moment and imagine that you are eating out at your favorite restaurant. Just as the waiter or waitress sets down your entrée, they take a moment to describe to you (in detail) all of the ingredients and methods for preparation that went into making your food?

It sounds like a nice presentation—until you hear the waiter describe how your steak was marinated in some mystery sauce found in the back of the closet. Oh, and the parsley garnish on your plate was actually some other sort of plant which may or may not be edible and/or poisonous.

And if you taste anything “different”, that was just one of the “additives” used.

“Additives?” you question, “What additives?” The reply: "oh, any combination from a list of 599 different elements that may be added to your food to either make it taste better, move to your blood stream quicker or make you addicted to this particular entrée."

Would you honestly still have an appetite after this explanation? Would you pass your meal to your kids or your family—or even your dog? I have a feeling you wouldn’t.

The scenario is the same as that of smokers and tobacco companies. Beyond all of the health issues that tobacco smoke is proven to cause, if the principals involved were applied to a different situation (like that of an entrée at a restaurant) the consumer’s response would most likely be very different.

{You wouldn’t consume food or take medications that had several unknown ingredients, would you? Well, if you smoke, it’s quite possible that you do just that on a very regular basis.}

The real problem with additives is this: they are claimed to be safe, food-quality ingredients but no research has been done to prove whether this applies to the same ingredients if they are burned and inhaled. Setting fire to these substances changed their chemical properties dramatically.

Some suggest that cigarette companies are including additives as an attempt to improve the scent of second hand smoke so as to make it more socially acceptable. It makes sense to think that if smoke were less offensive to non-smokers, the health effects may also be easier to overlook.

Nicotine is a very addictive substance—and the ammonia that is added to cigarettes so that nicotine is absorbed into the blood quicker, supplying the smoker with a bigger “hit” makes it harder to quit smoking than before. If you are in the process of quitting, you should feel encouraged about the fact that you have decided to do something that will dramatically improve your health as well as your family’s.

In the mean time, be aware of how your habit is exposing others to many potentially dangerous chemicals and help protect them from the risks associated with second hand smoke. The danger is especially great for children and elderly individuals.

Avoid smoking indoors, in your car or in any other enclosed area that you share with non-smokers
Smoke outdoors whenever possible
If you must smoke indoors, designate one room for smoking. Close off all return air vents in the room to ensure that smoke doesn’t spread throughout the rest of the house.
Run an air purifier with a HEPA/carbon filter like those made by Dynamic for your whole house or individual “smoking rooms”.
Remember that secondhand smoke affects your pets too—animals can also develop cancer.