Cigarettes emit harmful substances even after extinguishing

Thanks to warnings on TV and oncigarette packs with images of terrible diseases, we already know perfectly well about the dangers of smoking. This bad habit is very common and in most cases leads to cancer, respiratory diseases and problems with the cardiovascular system. But did you know that cigarettes harm not only human health, but also the environment? For example, in 2019, scientists from the English city of Cambridge found that cigarette butts thrown to the ground greatly slow down plant growth. Now it has become known that cigarettes release harmful substances into the air even after extinction. But what substances are we talking about and what are they harmful?

Every year, people throw up to five trillion cigarette butts

The environmental dangers of cigarettes werenarrated in the science journal Science of the Total Environment. If you believe the published article, then cigarettes emit eight chemicals into the air, four of which are considered dangerous to humans and nature. According to staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the release of nicotine and triacetin into the air stops only five days after extinguishing the cigarette.

The substance triacetin is not considered dangerous and sometimeseven used as a dietary supplement as a solvent for flavors and moisturizers. In cigarettes, it plays the role of a plasticizer, which gives the filters elasticity.

How do cigarettes harm nature?

By measuring the amount of harmful emissions into the airFrom an extinguished cigarette, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) took up the job. According to environmental engineer Dustin Poppendieck (Dustin Poppendieck), the ability of cigarettes to emit hazardous compounds can be even more fatal when smoking indoors. For example, having the habit of leaving cigarette butts in an ashtray, many people can literally saturate their home with harmful substances.

It is important to note that in the smoke itself contains more than 4000 dangerous substances that can trigger the development of cancer. Scientists mention eight substances that produce quenched butts

To find out how much chemicalcompounds appears in an enclosed space from smoked cigarettes, scientists conducted a laboratory experiment. It consisted of the fact that the researchers placed 2100 smoked cigarettes inside a stainless steel box and five days later estimated the concentration of harmful substances in it. Of course, they did not begin to smoke cigarettes on their own, but provided it to a special robot that can do six puffs, simulating the smoking of a real person.

By the way, there is another robot smoker in the world that helps scientists study lung diseases.

Ultimately, the authors of the scientific work came tothe conclusion that extinguished cigarettes release so many harmful substances into the air that the harm from them is comparable to regular second-hand smoke. It is noteworthy that at high temperatures the emission of harmful substances occurs much more intensively, so leaving full ashtrays in a hot room is obviously an extremely bad decision.

Ashtrays need to be shaken out on time, or better yet, completely quit smoking

You may think that without smoking in the car inthe presence of children, you protect their health. But if there is an ashtray with extinguished cigarettes in the cabin, then there will still be a harmful effect on others, ”the researchers noted.

Unfortunately more accurate information about harmfulsubstances and their concentration yet. In general, scientists should conduct a more thorough study, which would involve cigarettes from different brands, the composition of which can vary greatly. On the other hand, the results of scientific work talked about yet another dangerous line of cigarette butts, of which up to five trillion pieces accumulate on the planet's surface in a year.