Tobacco

What is Tobacco?

Tobacco contains a fast-acting drug called nicotine which affects the brain within around 8 seconds of inhalation – and is highly addictive.

Facts and figures

• It is illegal for shopkeepers to sell tobacco to under-16s.
• Tobacco smoking contributes to at least 2,000 limb amputations and 111,000 premature deaths in the UK each year.

What tobacco does

• Tobacco speeds up the heart rate and increases blood pressure.
• Most smokers wish they had never started because, once hooked, it is so difficult to give up.

Dangers and health risks

• Smoking does not only affect the smoker but also people around them. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ‘passive smoking’, which include breathing difficulties, asthma and even cancer. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which are harmful to health.
• The effects of smoking on the smoker are many: in the short term they are more prone to coughs and chest problems, and in the longer term they are at increased risk of cancer, emphysema and heart disease, all of which can be fatal.