In this section
After ten years of stopping smoking your risk of lung cancer is less than half that of a continuing smoker and continues to decline (provided the disease is not already present).
Tar
Tar is the name given to the sticky yellow-brown substance that stains the smoker's fingers, teeth and lungs. Tar is inhaled when the smoker draws on a lighted cigarette. Tar is made up of particles consisting mostly of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. A number of carcinogens (cancer causing substances) are present in tar.
An average 'pack-a-day' smoker takes in approximately 150mls of tar in one year.
References
- US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: The Changing Cigarette. A report of the US Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office on Smoking and Health, 1981.
- US Department of Health Education and Welfare. Smoking and Health. A report of the US Surgeon General. Rockville, Maryland: US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office on Smoking and Health, 1979.
