Pesticides are even present in cigarettes, according to American researchers
Researchers have found substances common in pesticides in cigarette smoke. Some can even be carcinogenic.
It is not enough to worry about the absurd amount of pesticides to which a large part of the food we consume is exposed. If you are a smoker and live in the US, you have to worry about the presence of pesticides in cigarettes as well.
Although the news seems a bit picturesque - after all, cigarettes are known to contain carcinogens - the bright side is that smokers gain yet another reason to kick the habit. However, the downside of the story is that substances found in tobacco crops by researchers at the Colorado School of Mines, USA, can cause even more damage to health. They came to this conclusion by analyzing cigarette smoke.
Chemicals, usually used in tobacco production and approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), can disrupt the human endocrine system, which includes the thyroid and other glands and the hormones secreted by these. Because of this, many of them have already been banned in Europe.
It is not yet known whether pesticides survive the processing and burning of tobacco or whether they end up in cigarette smoke. According to Kent Voorhees of the Colorado School of Mines, "there are no data to establish the possible synergistic effect of these pesticides with the other compounds that have been identified in tobacco smoke."
Below, find out which substances were found and how they affect (eventually) the human body:
Flumetralin
Suspected endocrine disruptor already banned for tobacco use in Europe.
Pendimethalin
A known endocrine disruptor that affects the thyroid.
trifluralin
An endocrine disruptor that affects reproductive and metabolic systems.
The last two substances, even, can even be carcinogenic. The researchers studied a range of experimental and commercial cigarette smoke samples.
