Nicotine vs. Marlene
Studies show that more than 13% of American high school students smoke at least a half pack of cigarettes per day, knowing what kind of damage cigarettes are capable of causing. (Henningfield, 19) The encyclopedia of psychoactive drugs (Nicotine) by Jack E. Henningfield is about everything one needs to know about Nicotine. Nicotine, which is the psychoactive drug in tobacco, has been a major concern to many of people like governments, scientists, and smokers for as long as it has been around. A number of scientists think of nicotine to be the most addictive drug in existence. The encyclopedia of psychoactive drugs answers the questions that young people are likely to ask about drugs, as well as the ones who are afraid to ask but know they should.
Millions of people smoke cigarettes without knowing what they are letting into their body. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals and other dangerous ingredients. There are so many that it will take years or research to know exactly which components are harmful. The three major important ingredients are tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine. (Henningfield, 31) Tar is a dark, thick, flammable liquid distilled from wood or coal, consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons, resins, alcohols, and other compounds. Tar is used for road making and for coating and preserving timber. Tar is one of the major health hazards in cigarette smoking. It causes many types of cancer. Tar is important to the taste of the cigarette and the satisfaction the body gets from smoking. Carbon monoxide is a gas that is made when materials are burned. Carbon monoxide is also produced by internal combustion engines and by gas stoves and ovens. This easily passes through the blood stream when injected to the body. This is major problem because when it enters the blood stream it combines with hemoglobin to form carbnxyhemoglobin