Cigarette smoke is a cocktail of poisonous chemicals.

Based on our current knowledge, cigarette smoke is a dangerous cocktail of about 4,000 chemicals. These include:

• sixty-nine cancer-causing chemicals, such as benzene, arsenic, cadmium, radioactive polonium-210 and formaldehyde.
• other poisons such as carbon monoxide, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide that can cause heart disease or other illnesses.

Your questions answered

The poisonous smoke section has lots of information on the chemicals in cigarette smoke. Click on the images below to find the answers to some common questions.

For more information...

To find out more about the dangers of smoking and how to quit for good, have a look at our leaflet "Wish you could give it up?" or our Healthy Living website.

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