Cigarettes & tobacco
Fact sheets on what’s in cigarettes, different types of tobacco and nicotine products, and second-hand and third-hand smoke.
When you burn a cigarette, it creates smoke containing a mixture of over 7000 chemicals. Most of the chemicals in cigarette smoke come from burning tobacco leaf and many of these chemicals are toxic.
When breathing in smoke, many of these chemicals pass through the lungs walls into the blood stream and go to every part of the body.
From April 1st 2025, tobacco laws in Australia restrict the flavours and other additives allowed in tobacco products. These laws are designed to reduce the appeal of smoking, make the harms of smoking clear and make it easier for people to quit.
Fact Sheet
What's in cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco?
Webpage
What’s in a cigarette?
While factory-made cigarettes are the most common form of tobacco, other tobacco products include roll-your-own tobacco, shisha (waterpipes), cigars, pipe tobacco, bidis, kreteks (or clove cigarettes), and smokeless tobacco. These products cause smoking-related disease. Smoking herbal cigarettes and cannabis can harm your health. Nicotine pouches deliver nicotine, a highly addictive substance, and other chemicals through the lining of the mouth.
Fact Sheets
Webpage
Easy Read Fact Sheet
Easy read fact sheets use pictures and very simple words. They tell you how to ask Quitline for an interpreter to help you on the phone.
Types of tobacco products
Weaker tasting cigarettes are just as harmful as regular cigarettes. Tobacco companies are not allowed to use terms on their packs to imply that the product is less harmful or has positive or healthy qualities.
For more information see Fact Sheet: What's in cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco?
Weaker tasting cigarette
Second-hand smoke is made up of the tobacco smoke breathed out by a person smoking and the smoke which drifts from the burning end of a cigarette.
Second-hand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Breathing in second-hand smoke is also referred to as passive smoking
Second-hand smoke causes heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. It causes many illnesses in children including infections in the lungs and ears.
For more information see Fact Sheet: Second-hand smoke.
Also see Why children need smoke-free and vape-free homes brochure.
Second-hand smoke
Third-hand smoke refers to the chemicals and particles from second-hand smoke that settle onto and coat walls, furniture, carpet, clothes, toys, dust and other objects. Third-hand smoke is also found on the clothing, skin and hair of people who smoke.
These sources of tobacco smoke pollution can be a concern for parents, family members, carers and health professionals who look after children or people in aged care facilities and disability or mental health services.
For more information about how to protect children and non-smokers from all sources of tobacco smoke pollution see Fact Sheet: Third-hand smoke and indoor smoking bans.
