Cigarette

The cigarette is a small cylinder (generally less than 10 cm length and 8 mms in diameter) of sheets of chopped and treated Tabac.

Its use consists to light it so that it is consumed in to inhale its Fumée while aspiring by the mouth. The term, used usually, refers to a cigarette of tobacco, manufactured or rolled to the hand, and can be applied for others Herbe S. This term can be also used for the cigarettes containing of the Cannabis or its extracts (like in the case of police or legal reports/ratios) but, popularly, of the words of slang like “joint”, “detonator” or “spliff” are used to differentiate them from the “normal” cigarettes of tobacco.

Some smokers of cigarettes roll them themselves but the majority buy them in packages from ten to thirty cigarettes. These commercial cigarettes generally contain a filter out of acetate or cotton.

A cigarette is distinguished from a Cigare by its less dimension, the use of treated sheets and its paper entourage; the cigars are usually entirely made up of complete sheets of tobacco. A cigar having about the size of a cigarette is called Cigarillo.

The cigarette contains many toxic substances . Some are added knowingly by the manufacturers to increase the addictif capacity of their product.

The cigarette results in the death of 4 million people in the world per annum.

History of the cigarette

The culture of the tobacco finds its origin in America, there is more than 500 years. When Colomb meets the Indians, those to look after itself, roll of the sheets of tobacco until obtaining a kind of large cigar which they call “tabaco”.

In their Calumet also burns a mixture of several grasses of which tobacco and the Chanvre. With same time, as the tobacco does not exist in Europe, the Romans and the Greeks, who smoked the pipe, sheets of Eucalyptus and Poirier employ.

In 1492, during its forwarding in America, Christophe Colomb discovers the tobacco and brings it back in Europe, at the Spanish and Portuguese Court, where it is used for a long time like simple plant of ornament. It is only in the middle of the 16th century that the personal doctor of Philippe II starts to propagate the “universal drug”: tobacco. It will be introduced in France in 1556 by a monk of Angouleme; it is called then “Angoumois grass”.

In 1560, Jean Nicot, believing in the curative effect of the plant, sends powder to the Queen Catherine de Médicis in order to treat the terrible migraines of his/her son François II. The treatment has success and the tobacco becomes thus “the grass with the Queen”. Its sale in the form of powder is reserved for the Apothicaire S. In the honor of Jean Nicot one calls the tobacco “Nicotiana Tabacum”.

More commonly, it is named " nicotiane" , " médicée" , " catherinaire" , " of Mr. Prieur" bleaches on grass; , " sainte" bleaches on grass; , " bleaches on grass with all the maux" , " panacea antarctique" and finally " bleaches on grass with ambassadeur".

It is at the end of the 16th century that the word tobacco appears. At the 17th century under Louis XIV, Colbert issues the " Privilege of manufacture and sale ". This one is initially conceded with private individuals, then with only the Compagnie of the Indies. The tabaculture becomes a Monopoly and quickly controlling them see the money re-entries which they can hope for of the taxation of the tobacco.

In 1719, its culture is prohibited in all France with judgments which can go until the capital punishment. Exceptions: the Franche-Comté, the Flanders and the Alsace. It will remain it until 1791.

In 1809, Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin, chemistry teacher of the Medical school of Paris isolates an active ingredient nitrogenized from the sheets of tobacco. The Nicotine, as for it, will be identified a few years later. But it is only about 1843, that the first cigarette is invented. The 20th century will have however to be waited so that it becomes a “consumable” current. In France, in 1926, the industrial operations department of the tobaccos and matches (the SEITA) is created to manage the monopoly. The benefit of the service are versed with the autonomous case for the damping of the Government loans. In 1939, the listed or occult production largely exceeds the 2700 million tons, it more than doubled in forty years and the production of cigarettes passed from 10 billion in 1923 to 19 billion in 1940.

The organization by the industrialists of the tobacco of the free distribution of cigarettes to the soldiers during the two wars also will generalize consumption.

But cigarette smoking really started to become extensive only since the end of the Second world war with the arrival of “American”. The cigarette filters, invented in 1930, will arrive in the hearths in 1950.

The invention of the cigarette will initiate the consumption of mass of this drug on a world level by simplifying its catch. Cigarette smoking becomes planetary then.

In 1982, the worldwide production of cigarettes reaches 4.600 billion units.

The 19th century saw the birth of the cigarette, the 20th century will see its preponderance coinciding with the striking down development of the serious lung cancers, and other nicotinic affections.

The manufacture of the cigarettes consists of a mixture of tobacco, paper and adhesive for paper. Paper varies in porosity to allow the ventilation of the material and to control the velocity burning. There exist various kinds of cigarettes: the blondes (for example Marlboro) and the brown ones (like the Gallic ones).

Psychotropic effects of the cigarette

The Nicotine has various effects Psychotrope S, such as for example reducing the appetite. A third of those which stop smoking takes temporarily plumpness. However, there exist strategies, based mainly on the increase in the energy expenditure, to prevent or limit the catch of weight to the stop of the cigarette.

The Nicotine contained in the cigarette also acts, indirectly, on the Reward system. It activates the receivers with Acétylcholine, which involves the release of Dopamine. Other substances increase the quantity of Dopamine, they are in particular the Cocaïne and the Héroïne.

But nicotine alone does not make dependant. The cigarette has also an effect Antidépresseur, and it is this effect, compound with the pleasure gotten by the activation of the Reward system, which will give to the cigarette its strong addictif capacity . It is for that also that the stop of the cigarette causes at many people large a Tristesse. The antidepressant effect is with the Harmane and the Norharmane, resulting from the combustion of the tobacco. These two molecules cause an inhibition of the monoamines oxydases, which corresponds to the effect of some Antidépresseur S.

The addictif capacity of the cigarette is comparable has that of drugs known as " dures" like heroin for example. The presence of additives contributes to still reinforce the phenomena of dependence. For example, Marlboro became first salesman in 1978 because of addition of Ammoniaque. Ammonia always forms part of toxic substances contained in the cigarette (see low the list of toxic substances or irritating), it is supposed " to potentiate the arômes" according to the manufacturers but certain scientists suspectent however this molecule to support the nicotine release and its tranfert with the brain. Even thing for theobromine, this extract of Cacao would act as bronchodilatator, increasing the heat-transferring surface in the Poumon S between the Air and the Sang.

Cigarettes and health

See also: Nicotinism

It is proven today that the consumption of cigarettes is the main cause (95% of the cases) of the Lung cancer as well as a major cause of the Cancer of the throat, even if one yet truly did not find the cause of the cancer. The risk is inherent in the Tabac, in particular with the carcinogenic tar which use its composition, and with its additives, whatever its method of catch (pipe, cigarettes or cigar).

To smoke is particularly disadvised during the pregnancy: inter alia, the risks of miscarriage, by perinatal mortality, weight of the new born lower than the average increase.

The risks of the nicotinism are an increase in the probability of contracting one of the following diseases (nonexhaustive list):

  • majority of the types of cancer and particularly: lung, mouth, larynx, throat, kidney, bladder, center, stomach and small intestine;

  • Cardiovascular diseases;
  • Maladies of the lung, including the Emphysème, chronic bronchitis which leads in the long run to a chronic respiratory insufficiency;
  • Diseases of the oral cavity.

The toxicity of the tobacco has increased for a few decades when the manufacturers of cigarettes added to the tobacco of the chemical additives in order to increase the assimilation of the Nicotine by the body (in particular the Ammoniac) and thus to cause a faster dependence.

In France, since January 1st, 2004, some of these dangers are announced on the packages of cigarette by written warnings, just as in the other States of the Union: The regulation is related to the directive 2001/37/CE of June 5th, 2001 “relating to the bringing together of the legislative measures, lawful and administrative of the Member States as regards manufacture, presentation and sale of the products of the tobacco”. At October 31st, 2004, the directive was transposed in all the Member States except for the Estonia. At least 174 components of the smoke of a cigarette are toxic.

Composition

In practice, the cigarettes commercial are not completely made up of tobacco but mixed with an significant amount of additives varied in order to control combustion, to maintain the uniformity of taste, to raise of it the gustatory characteristics (industry cigarettière makes a massive use of Chocolat for this purpose, inter alia), to preserve longer, and even for completion to change qualities Organoleptique S of smoke (in the case of new products of niche, said " cigarettes without fumée" , for example). Some cigarettes, known like Kretek S , “cigarettes of clove”, or simply “cloves”, consist of a mixture of tobacco and cloves to give a light euphoric effect. Those containing Eucalyptus would be less harmful. In addition to the additives, the fibers of tobacco are amalgamated to differing degree with the dust of tobacco produced during the treatment and with the crushed veins of the sheets (reconstituted tobacco).

Toxic substances and irritating contained in the cigarette smoke

These substances act on the consumer of tobacco, but also on the people being in the vicinity. It is what one calls passive smoking.

The cigarette smoke contains between 3.000 and 5.000 different components. The major irritants contained in the cigarette smoke are the following:

Here 1 Pb = 0,001 ppm. Do not appear in this table:

  • the Hydrocyanic acid , active ingredient of the Forestite and the Zyklon B, going from 134 to 379 µg per cigarette;
  • the Benzene, going from 39 to 88 µg per cigarette;
  • the Acrylonitrile, going from 10 to 25 µg per cigarette.

Marks

Manufacturers of cigarettes

(incomplete)
The tobacco industry gathers international companies which are among most powerful of the world. Six principal manufacturers of tobacco share 99% of the market of the cigarettes: Altadis (Gallic, News, Royal, Gipsies, Fortuna), Gallaher (Benson & Hedges), Philip Morris lately famous Altria (Marlboro, Philip Moris, Chesterfield, L&M), British American Tobacco (Winfield, Peter Stuyvesant, Lucky Strike, Stake Badly, Rothmans), Japan Tobacco International (Camel, Winston) and Imperial Tobacco (JPS, Road 66).
source: INPES

Famous cigarette paper marks

  • Odet-Cascadec-Bolloré (OCB)
  • Papers Lacroix (Rizla+)
  • Papers Jean Bardou (JOB)

fictitious Marks with the cinema and on television

Facts in short: Light” and “soft” cigarettes “

A survey carried out in 1998-1999 by Canada Health and entitled: the attitude of the smokers with regard to light” and “soft” cigarettes the “ showed that:
  • 39% of the smokers of regular cigarettes having chosen for light” or “soft” cigarette a “did it for health reasons and 18% as a first step towards the abandonment.
  • 47% of the smokers thinks that “light” means that the smoke of these cigarettes contains less tar, of nicotine and carbon monoxide; 28% think that “soft” means that the smoke of these cigarettes contains less tar, of nicotine and carbon monoxide.
When it is asked to them whether these terms are ambiguous, 59% of the Canadians estimate that the terms “light” and “soft” are it and 38% of them wish to have more information as for their significance.
  • 24% of the smokers thinks that the fact that the manufacturers label their products “light” or “soft” corresponds to an advertizing easy way.
The cigarette packs must indicate the level of emission of six toxic substances in the form of an interval: a small figure and a high figure - for example “tar 14 - 34 Mg” to take account of the fluctuations due to the various manners of smoking.

The European Union also decided to intervene on the indicators of light” and “soft” cigarettes “. Since September 2003, it is interdict to register mentions of the kind on the packing of the products of the tobacco.

It seems that the smokers adjust consciously or unconsciously their way of smoking by taking major and longer puffs or by covering the openings of ventilation of the filter in order to inhale sufficient nicotine. The real consumption of nicotine, tar and other substances carcinogenic is then at least equal to the quantities inhaled with “standard” cigarettes.

Statistics

  • In France, as in the majority of the industrialized countries, the cigarette is the avoidable leading cause of disease and mortality.

  • 66.000 people die of the tobacco each year in France.
  • a smoker on two will die of a disease caused by the consumption of cigarettes, afterwards, most of the time, a long and painful disease.
  • Fumer decreases on average by eight years the life expectancy.
  • the smokers are likely 18 times more to be victim of a lung cancer that the nonsmokers. The risk to make an infarction before 65 years is 3 times higher at the smoker.
  • Only 13% of the people to which one diagnoses a lung cancer (caused by the tobacco) today will be still alive in five years.
  • the nonsmokers living with a smoker would increase by 26% their cancer risk of the lung, of 23% their risk of infarction.
  • 85% of the smokers " passifs" often suffer from respiratory problems
  • 95% of the lung cancers is detected among smokers; the use of cigarettes known as " légères" or of filters the risk does not reduce significantly.

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