Big tobacco is sucking the life
out of Idaho.
Big Tobacco spends an estimated $50.6 million dollars each year in Idaho. They are making money and Idahoans are paying the price. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in our communities. More than 1,500 Idahoans die from smoking-related diseases annually — an average of four people per day. (back to top)
There’s nothing good about cigarettes.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, including 50 known cancer causing chemicals. For example, the poisons in cigarette smoke include carbon monoxide, which is found in exhaust fumes produced by cars and trucks, and hydrogen cyanide, a colorless gas that causes nerve, lung, and heart problems.
The cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke include:
- benzo(a)pyrene and NNK, which cause lung cancer
- nitrosamines, which cause cancer of the lung, esophagus, oral cavity, and other organs
- aromatic amines, which cause bladder and breast cancer
- formaldehyde, which is associated with nasal cancer
- benzene, which causes at least one type of leukemia
