Additives in tobacco products

Additives are substances intentionally added to tobacco products by tobacco industry in order to render toxic tobacco products palatable and acceptable to consumers.

The tobacco industry is made up of many companies that make and sell different types of tobacco products. Whether it is smoked, chewed, sniffed or inhaled second-hand, the use
of these tobacco products can and does cause debilitating and life-threatening diseases, as well as premature death.

The cigarette is the single most commonly used tobacco product
in the European Union (EU). Most people are aware that smoking cigarettes is harmful, as thousands of compounds are produced and released in the smoke, some of which
(hundreds) are toxic.

But what people may not be aware of is that most tobacco manufacturers add ingredients other
than tobacco to cigarettes that affect the chemical make-up of the smoke.

These ingredients are known as tobacco additives
and are reportedly used, for example, to:

■■give a cigarette a particular flavour;
■■control the way the cigarette burns;
■■keep the tobacco moist thus preventing it from drying out

To some people, the reasons for adding these substances to a consumer product may appear perfectly reasonable. They may argue that this is not necessarily a bad thing as it makes
for a better consumer experience. However, helping people to better tolerate and enjoy a product like cigarettes, which is well known to be toxic and carcinogenic, is an entirely different
issue and a matter of great concern.

Additives in tobacco products PDF