why are additives added to cigarettes (other than for company's benefit or profit)?

Question

you know how they say there is arsenic, benzene, etc. etc. in cigarette smoke.

i know certain brands add flavorings etc., to differentiate their brand & also to hook more people probably.

but why are the toxic chemicals added (or are these just a by product of burning the tobacco?)

why is tobacco not just smoked purely like marijuana is (or is that full of benzene & additives too; i think i read that it is not or less carcinogenic)

Answer 1

The addition of certain chemicals make cigarettes burn faster so people will smoke more..

Answer 2

Some additives are placed to make the cigarettes keep burning. The harmfull ingredient was written about in national publications forty years ago. The main problem is the fertilizers used on tobacco. Tobacco is a soil intensive crop, without fertilizers it depletes soil. About 1945 or so America ran out of most of its pure potassium deposits and had to resort to Utah uranium slag potassium.The radioactivity of this product eventually gets into our tobacco and so on.

Answer 3

Actually, some of those additives are there to keep the tobacco from going stale. If you've ever smoked natural tobacco, not only does it taste VERY different, it goes stale unbelieveably quickly.

Answer 4

Alter flavor, burning rate, length of tabacco freshness. Some of those additives are worse than the nicotine!