Is it the nicotine or the smoke particles that cause lung cancer?

Question

people that only chew tobacco or snuff don't seem to have the high rates of lung cancer that smokers do.They may get more mouth cancer but not the same lung cancer as smokers.

Answer 1

That's because chewing tobacco never gets to the lungs.
Nicotine causes the addiction but not the cancer. What causes the cancer is all the other crap that tobacco companies mix in with the tobacco to make the cigarettes and cigars taste better and burn better. I have read that the American Native people who smoke only dried tobacco leaves have a very low incidence of lung cancer.
Of course today we also have all the wonderful polution in the air from chemical plants and car exhaust plus the pollution of the water by chemical plants who produce chemical fertilizers for golf courses and farms and people's lawns. Smoking is only one way to get lung cancer. My next door neighbor never smoked a day in her life but died of lung cancer. She used to commute to New York City everyday for many years because that was where she worked. Sucks doesn't it?
LL

Answer 2

Your lungs take a pretty bad beating from smoking anything. Multiple times per day would give you quite a bit of tar and decrease your lung capacity and overall respiratory health. It's not as bad as smoking a pack of cigs per day because of all the additives, but its certainly going to do some damage. I suggest a vaporizer if you're going to be smoking that often; a one-time investment of a few hundred can save your lungs from irreparable damage over a few years.

Answer 3

I think it is the tar that gives you lung cancer I quit smoking 2 months ago and started chewing and I fill a lot better I can smell the air better and taste food better.

Answer 4

yeah its the crap in the smoke/chew. the nicotine is pretty addicitve but isnt really all that harmful, except it might raise your blood pressure a bit. youre right, chewers dont get lung cancer but they get tounge, throat and mouth cancer at much higher rates so its still just about as bad

Answer 5

Just the smoke. Nicotine is fairly harmless in itself. You can get the patch to get the nicotin high without the side effects but the dose is small and the effect is lame. Kinda makes ya sick if you have not been exposed to it before.

Answer 6

Nicotine just makes it addictive. Other than that, whilst not the best substance in the world, has no major health threat.

So its the other things (like tar) in the cigarette that cause the cancer.

Answer 7

the smoke particles cause lung cancer because they fill the lungs with gunk... nicotine causes the addiction

Answer 8

Actual its the other ingrediants in the cigerettes that cause the cancer. Read the label of a pack of cigerettes and you'll see.

Answer 9

It can