How Cigarettes Are Made More Addictive

How Cigarettes Are Made More AddictivennIt's already known that nicotine is one of the most incredibly addictive substances ever known to mankind. Unbelievably, there were many years when Big Tobacco denied this truth. But, it's now been so firmly established by the scientific community that it's no longer viable to deny this fundamental fact.nnIt's said that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine and heroin. Speaking from personal experience, I can say it's actually more addictive. Some even say that it's easier for an alcoholic to forsake alcohol than it is for a smoker to quit smoking. My experience confirms this also.nnCigarettes, as a nicotine-delivery device, would be extremely addictive even if nothing else were done to them. However, many of the large tobacco companies do quite a lot to increase the addictive properties of their product. This guarantees that less smokers will succeed in quitting; and, it also reduces the effectiveness of anti-smoking aids.nnOne method for cranking-up the nicotine power is to add sugars to the tobacco. Big Tobacco claims the purpose is to enhance flavor. However, Victor DeNoble (once a tobacco industry scientist) argues that acetaldehyde----which is produced by burning sugar----may make tobacco more addictive. Mr. DeNoble conducted studies with rats which provided evidence that acetaldehyde was extremely addictive.nnThe research significantly demonstrated that a compound in cigarettes besides nicotine could lead to addiction. In addition, Phillip Morris' experiments showed the addictive properties of acetaldehyde to be synergistic with nicotine: in other words, when the compounds are combined their effect is multiplied. This is also why it's suspected that nicotine replacement methods are often ineffective: for, they replace the nicotine but not the acetaldehyde.nnWilliam Farone, also a former tobacco industry scientist, speculated that the tobacco industry was concentrating on methods to enhance nicotine's addictive properties through other synergistic additives. Mr. Farone refers to GRAS----an acronym for “generally regarded as safe”----to characterize other compounds which are added to ratchet up the addiction level.nnThe GRAS compounds include chocolate and cocoa, which, when burned, produce theobromine. Theobromine facilitates cigarette smoke inhalation, allowing the nicotine to reach the deepest recesses of the lungs. Cocoa also smooths the smoke. nnPerhaps most insidious is what's known as ammonia technology. Through the addition of ammonia, cigarette smoke's pH is altered, turning the nicotine molecules into a vapor air “freebase.” This vapor nicotine is more readily absorbed into the smoker's bloodstream and brain. The blood-brain barrier is more easily compromised, allowing for the quickest hit of nicotine.nnJeffrey Wigand (a Big Tobacco whistle-blower) stated that American cigarettes contain at least 600 chemical additives. While these additives are viewed harmless in cosmetics and food; they largely have not been tested while burned and inhaled.nnFor those who think of our modern cigarettes as simply some pure tobacco that's rolled-up in paper, it's time to reconsider. It's far more accurate to think of cigarettes as a highly-engineered, deadly product.