Cigar, pipe and chewing tobaccos all contain the same poisons as cigarette tobacco in the same or increased amounts. Smoking cigars and pipes and chewing tobacco all cause can- cer of the mouth, lip, tongue, gums and throat, increase the risk for dying from cardiovascular disease and increase the likelihood of developing dental problems such as cavities, tooth loss and gum disease. Pipes and cigars are even greater sources of environmental tobacco smoke than cigarettes and, therefore, pose a health hazard to exposed non-smokers as well (see question 18 on pgs 28-29). There is simply no safe tobacco! Cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco all contain nicotine and therefore are also highly addictive. In these cases the nicotine is absorbed into the blood stream from the linings of the mouth and throat. The harsher more alkaline smoke of cigars and pipes is usually not inhaled except in former cigarette smokers who are used to inhaling. In the latter case, the inhaled smoke reaches the lung, its nicotine content is absorbed at this site as well and it can also cause lung cancer.

All forms of tobacco numb the taste buds, decrease taste and smell and cause bad breath which reduces social appeal. Chewing tobacco also increases saliva production and users must repeatedly spit which further reduces social appeal.

*21. Are smoking low tar and filter tip cigarettes safer than smoking "regular" cigarettes with out a filter?

Low tar ("light") and filter tip cigarettes do very little to reduce the huge health hazards of cigarettes. They are merely a deceptive advertising gimmick put forth by big tobacco companies to offer the public a false health reassurance and thereby increase sales. Even if an individual cigarette is produced to deliver less tar and nicotine, it has been shown that addicted smokers increase their smoking patterns (e.g., inhale more deeply or longer and/or smoke more cigarettes) to receive the same "nicotine fix". As a result, the smoker has a similar health risk but the tobacco companies sell more cigarettes. There is no safe tobacco!

22.a) Can you trace the path of toxic chemicals in inhaled tobacco smoke from the mouth to the lung and then through the blood stream to the heart and brain?

Inhaled tobacco smoke passes from the mouth to the throat, larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), bronchi (larger airways), bronchioles (smaller airways) and lung. In the lung, the nicotine and other toxic chemicals in inhaled tobacco smoke are absorbed into the blood stream by lung (pulmonary) capillaries, whose blood drains into the pulmonary veins, left atrium and left ventricle. In the left ventricle the blood (with tobacco toxins) is pumped to the aorta and from there to the smaller arteries which supply virtually all the tissues of the body including the heart (coronary arteries) and the brain (cerebral arteries).

Nicotine and toxic chemicals in chewing tobacco and in cigar and pipe smoke (which is usually not inhaled) are absorbed into the blood stream from capillaries lining the mouth and throat. From there the blood (containing the tobacco toxins) drains to the jugular veins (in the neck), superior vena cava (in the chest), right atrium and right ventricle. The right