Dimethylnitrosamine Pyridine Formaldehyde Urethane Hydrazine Vinyl chloride Tobacco smoke contains many carcingogens - that is chemicals that cause cancer. Smokers' lungs are more sensitive to cancer-causing chemicals because their cilia do not clear dust and mucus effectively. Tobacco smoke contains naphthylamine and nitrosamines, which cause lung cancer. Smokers also absorb these carcinogenic chemicals through their lungs, contributing to cancer in other parts of the body such as the bladder, kidney and pancreas. Tobacco smoke contains carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas.
Carbon monoxide interferes with uptake of oxygen in the lungs and with its release from the blood to the tissues that need it. When carbon monoxide is inhaled it combines with haemoglobin in the blood to form carboxyhaemoglobin, which reduces the amount of oxygen available to the body's vital organs. The amount of oxygen carried by the blood may be severely deprived in heavy smokers due to the effects of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide restricts the oxygen available to the foetus, contributing to the low weight of babies born to women who smoke. The baby in the womb cannot grow normally if deprived of oxygen.