Commercial tobacco smoke is a mixture of more than 5,000 chemicals.[1] According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,[2] the following are known human carcinogens found in cigarette smoke:
| Chemical | Amount (per cigarette) | |
|---|---|---|
| Acetaldehyde | 980 micrograms to 1.37 milligrams | |
| Acrylonitrile | formerly 1 to 2 milligrams. This product was used as a fumigant in tobacco. Its use has since been discontinued. | |
| 4-Aminobiphenyl | 0.2 to 23 nanograms | |
| o-Anisidine hydrochloride | unknown | |
| Arsenic | unknown | |
| Benzene | 5.9 to 75 micrograms | |
| Beryllium | 0.5 nanograms | |
| 1,3-Butadiene | 152 to 400 micrograms | |
| Cadmium | 1.7 micrograms | |
| 1,1-Dimethylhydrazine | unknown | |
| Ethylene oxide | unknown | |
| Formaldehyde | unknown | |
| Furan | unknown | |
| Heterocyclic amines | unknown | |
| Hydrazine | 32 micrograms | |
| Isoprene | 3.1 milligrams | |
| Lead | unknown | |
| 2-Naphthylamine | 1.5 to 35 nanograms | |
| Nitromethane | unknown | |
| N-Nitrosodi-n-butylamine | 3 nanograms | |
| N-Nitrosodiethanolamine | 24 to 36 nanograms | |
| N-Nitrosodiethylamine | up to 8.3 nanograms | |
| N-Nitrosodimethylamine | 5.7 to 43 nanograms | |
| N-Nitrosodi-n-propylamine | 1 nanogram | |
| 4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone | up to 4.2 micrograms | |
| N-Nitrosonornicotine | 14 micrograms | |
| N-Nitrosopiperidine | unknown | |
| N-Nitrosopyrrolidine | 113 nanograms | |
| N-Nitrososarcosine | 22 to 460 nanograms | |
| Polonium-210 | variable[3] | |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons | 28 to 100 milligrams | |
| o-Toluidine | 32 nanograms | |
| Vinyl chloride | 5.6 to 27 nanograms |