immagine di Roberto_Rizzato . [ read the first part of "Journey to the Smoke" ]
Tobacco is a herbaceous plant which belongs to the family of Solanacae (such as potato, eggplant, bell pepper is native ...); of tropical America and is now cultivated in many countries around the world. The leaves are the only used part of the plant. The chemical composition of tobacco smoke depends on various factors such as the variety of plant cultivation methods (fertilizers and pesticides) and processing after collection. Cigarette smoke contains around 4000 chemicals among which are included almeno 200 veleni ben conosciuti quali:
1. il DDT ;
2. l' arsenico ;
3. derivati del cianuro ;
4. la formaldeide (un gas irritante utilizzato nella lavorazione del legno);
5. ammoniaca ;
6. acetone ;
7. il monossido di carbonio (CO).
Vi sono inoltre sostanze irritanti, elementi cancerogeni o cocangerogeni, sostanze radioattive e polluenti chimici (additivi, conservanti, conce, pesticidi, ecc.).
La composizione chimica varia nel tempo: i componenti chimici nel fumo e nell'atmosfera circostante reagiscono with each other and change the effect of ultraviolet light.
Smoking is a complex aerosol consisting of a part of steam and a part of "particulate" where the smoke constituents are distributed. The gaseous component includes nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, nitrosamines, hydrogen cyanide, nitriles, volatile hydrocarbons, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and acrolein.
irritants and oxidants.
The irritants produced an increase in bronchial secretions and facilitate the accumulation of germs and irritants and carcinogens, which are the main causes of chronic bronchitis and 's bronchial asthma and come into play in the mechanisms that cause the ' pulmonary emphysema and lung cancer.
in cigarette smoke are present in the form of dust or gas, more than a dozen of irritants (acrolein , acetaldehyde, formaldehyde , hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide , phenol, etc.) responsible for alterations in respiratory mucosa and conjunctiva.
These substances alter the function of the mucous membranes and promote the development of chronic bronchitis. This group also includes the free radicals contained in the smoke in impressive quantities. The radicals free to contribute to respiratory damage, favoring the progression of chronic bronchitis to emphysema , and cardiovascular damage . The marked deficiency of antioxidant vitamins in smokers, in particular vitamin C, shows the body's attempt to oppose the oxidative damage.
Among the irritants should also be remembered that the additives are used to enhance the natural characteristics of tobacco products, to improve their storage capacity and decrease the tendency to perish in transit.
you ever open a pack of cigarettes and find a brand? No? Here's why.
Carcinogens and Cocangerogeni.
carcinogens and cocangerogene (ie collaterally responsible for the development of cancer) are present mostly in tar, or condensed. Substances in tobacco smoke is well known that the 'action carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are and nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are divided into " initiators (ie SOSAT cancer) and" promoters "(ie substances cocancerogene). Initiation is an instantaneous process (theoretically just one cigarette) and irreversible (stop "attenuated" but does not stop the process) due to alteration of cellular DNA (our genetic code).
The promotion, however, is a phenomenon of slow, repetitive and reversible, which can be influenced or modulated by many environmental factors. After the stage of "initiation" and "promotion", there is a phase of "progression". This phase is carried out by transforming normal cells into cells pre-neoplastic and neoplastic later. Nitrates
alkali present in tobacco smoke, derived from fertilizers used in the cultivation of the plant and are the most common source of nitrosamines found in tobacco smoke.
should mention the presence of radioactive elements in the smoke such as' isotope Polonium 210, (the che nel 2007 ha ucciso l'ex ufficiale del KGB Litvinienko in quel sushi bar di Londra), in quanto in alcune piantagioni sono utilizzati, come fertilizzanti, dei fosfati contenenti Uranio . Tale Uranio, per disintegrazione, produce Radio 226 , quindi Radon 222 e successivamente Polonio 210. Tali isotopi radioattivi assorbiti dalla pianta si ritrovano nel fumo: di qui la possibilità di depositi nei bronchi, nei polmoni, nel sangue e nel fegato dei fumatori (che da qui in poi chiameremo "suicidi").
Si stima che fumando 30 sigarette al giorno, si espongano i bronchi ad una dose di radiazioni equivalente a 300 radiografie al torace. 30 sigarette = 300 radiografie chest day. The simultaneous exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and Polonium 210 determines a increased incidence of cancer than the sum of individual effects .
For completeness, we must mention the metal components present in tobacco smoke : These may result from the type of soil, fertilizers and pesticides used.
Carbon Monoxide. The
Carbon monoxide, for the human body, is a potent poison. Carbon monoxide accounts for 3.2% of the gaseous part of cigarette smoke: that emitted by motor vehicles, which all fear and from which usually runs away, does not reach the 1, 5%!
smoke a cigarette produces about 20 mg of carbon monoxide, which, differently from what one would expect, is not retained by the filter . When carbon monoxide is absorbed by the lungs, enters the bloodstream by binding to hemoglobin (the substance iron in red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen) with an affinity 200 times higher oxygen . This means that hemoglobin binds to "smoke" 200 times better than oxygen, and then our blood, in spite of himself, helps to distribute the carbon monoxide poisoning in the body with particular abundance . The content of carboxyhemoglobin (hemoglobin linked to carbon monoxide and oxygen) in the blood of a smoker is about 10 times higher than in the blood of nonsmokers. This process obviously prevents the oxygenation of tissues.
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the next "episode" will discover the nicotine. And the diabolical effects on the unimaginable.
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