what chemicals does tobacco contain
Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers. Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful (1 - 4). Of the more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia (1, 2, 5).Among the 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 69 can cause cancer.These cancer-causing chemicals include the following (1, 2, 5): 1  Acetaldehyde.igarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products vary widely in their content of nicotine, cancer-causing substances, and other toxicants. In a cigarette (which contains 0.49 to 0.89 gram of tobacco), the nicotine content can vary between 13.79 and 22.68 milligrams per gram of dry tobacco (12, 13).