Re:Inside the Philip Morris campaign to 'normalize' a tobacc...
by dcolkitt on Friday February 21, 2020 @01:41PM
(#22385563)
> The most lethal way tobacco smoking impacts health is through carcinogenic by-products created from metabolizing said tobacco.
Maybe, we're misunderstanding each other. But all those compounds you listed are directly present in smoke itself. I.e. they're not metabolic byproducts.
In fact they're not even related to tobacco specifically. (With the major exception of N-nitrosamine). Cannabis smoke (gram for gram) contains equivalent of higher levels of PAH, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, aldehyde, and aromatic amines.[1] These are all pretty much universal byproducts of burning any type of dried plant material, and the same reason that exposures are similar for wood-burning fireplaces.[2]
[1] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/tx700275p [2] https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/wood-smoke-and-your-health
Here's a better breakdown of carcinogens in cigarette smoke (same book, same author)[0]. The most lethal way tobacco smoking impacts health is through carcinogenic by-products created from metabolizing said tobacco.
"PAH, N-nitrosamines, aromatic amines, 1,3-butadiene, benzene, aldehydes, and ethylene oxide are probably the most important carcinogens because of their carcinogenic potency and levels in cigarette smoke."[0]
To elucidate on one of your points: nicotine isn't on any of the "carcinogens in tobacco" lists, because it, nor any of its metabolites, aren't carcinogens at any dosage that is practically applicable to humans.[1]
[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53010/ [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553893/