Perhaps this list of ingredients that are found in cigarettes is enough to make you want to quit smoking for good!

There are more than 4,000 ingredients in a cigarette other than tobacco. Common additives include yeast, wine, caffeine, beeswax and chocolate. Here are some other ingredients:

Ammonia: Household cleaner
Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
Arsenic: Used in rat poisons
Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
Cadmium: Used in batteries
Cyanide: Deadly poison
DDT: A banned insecticide
Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
Lead: Poisonous in high doses
Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
Methoprene: Insecticide
Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice
Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics
Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element

Nicotine Addiction

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. Powerful and very fast acting. This is the chemical which causes addiction to cigarettes.

• It is a drug and has many different effects on the body at the same time.

• After just one puff it begins to act on your central nervous system, brain and other parts of the body.

• It actually stimulates your system, even though it makes you feel relaxed.

• Nicotine affects chemicals in your brain and, after a puff, you usually feel good for a moment or two, which is why many smokers view smoking as stress relief when under pressure.

• Some areas of the brain are pleasure related and when stimulated give the feeling of relaxation and reduced anxiety.

Over time as you continue to smoke, your body learns to depend on nicotine. As a result when you stop smoking you get 'nicotine cravings' one of many different withdrawal symptoms.

Nicotine Cravings And Withdrawal

Cravings and withdrawal symptoms when you quit smoking are a common experience.

It is the way your body reacts when it stops getting nicotine and all the other chemicals in tobacco smoke.

Some withdrawal symptoms will come and go over a period of a few days. Most are gone within three weeks and not every smoker is affected to the same degree.

Cravings. Each one lasts 3 -5 minutes, and may be strong. Over time however, cravings will happen less often. More about cravings below.

Headaches (occasional), indigestion, nausea, diarrhoea and sore throats rarely last more than four days.

• Try usual over the counter remedies for these symptoms.

Insomnia and an increased tendency to dream.

• Tea and coffee contain caffeine and, without nicotine, your body absorbs much more of this stimulant, which can make you restless, irritable and sleepless for a while.

• Try drinking less tea and coffee, make your cups weaker.

• Consider coffee substitutes, water, fruit juice and caffeine-free cola drinks.

Coughing most commonly caused by the cilia that line your lungs cleaning out the tar and mucus.

Irritability, depression or anxiety are closely connected to the physical action of nicotine leaving your body and will lessen over one to three weeks.

Increased appetite and possible weight gain.

Tiredness and lack of concentration.

• Try and relax more during the first few weeks any tiredness will pass.

• Take a break from what your doing and take a short walk if possible to help concentration.

The first few days after you quit can be the hardest.

The most problematic symptom tends to be cravings.

Few smokers quit without getting cravings. If you want to succeed you must learn to get through them. The following tips should help:

• Confront cravings head on and learn to 'overcome the urge to smoke at will through sheer determination'.

• The choice to quit smoking and the responsibility for not smoking is yours alone.

• Cravings only last 3- 5 minutes and they WILL subside. Once the urge to smoke has gone your resolve will strengthen.

• Focus on the reasons you decided to quit. Take a look at your quitting plan.

• Take 3 or 4 deep breaths. Breathe in slowly through the nose and fill your lungs, then breathe out again slowly through the mouth.

• Drink water. Sip it slowly and try to savour the taste. This will also help to satisfy any increased appetite.

• Keep busy. Take your mind off smoking by going for a walk, doing an odd job around the home or in the garden or call a friend or relative on the phone

If you have been making notes so far, developing your quitting plan, think about cravings and withdrawal symptoms for a moment or two. Picture a scenario when you have desperately wanted to smoke. If that were to occur once you stop what would you do?

Make a note of what you plan to do to deal with cravings. Maybe something like:

"When I get a strong craving I am going to occupy myself for 5 minutes by manicuring my nails".

Write it down on your list and number it "3".

Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is simply other people's tobacco smoke. Wherever people smoke, there is secondhand smoke in the air. Breathing in secondhand smoke is sometimes called passive smoking.

Secondhand smoke contains…

• Side stream smoke - smoke from the tip of the cigarette.
• Mainstream smoke - smoke that is breathed back out by the smoker.

Secondhand smoke hangs around for ages and most of it is invisible and odourless. Even if you open up the windows it will still be in a room after two and a half hours! Even if you can't see or smell any smoke, it's probably still there. Smoking in a car is even worse because all of the smoke is concentrated into a small space.

Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke are at risk of the same diseases as smokers, including cancer and heart disease!

Secondhand smoke contains 4,000 toxic chemicals and it is estimated that it causes thousands of deaths each year. Children are particularly affected by secondhand smoke because their bodies are still developing.