Palo Alto Medical Foundation

  • Teen Home
  • About Us
  • PAMF Home
  • Ask the Expert
  • General Health
  • Tobacco, Drugs & Alcohol
  • Emotions & Life
  • Sexual Health & Experience

Tobacco, Drugs & Alcohol

  • Smoking & Tobacco
    • What is tobacco?
    • Risks
    • Tips for Quitting
    • Quittsville

What is tobacco?

  • Decrease Font Size
  • Increase Font Size
  • Send to a Friend
  • Share
    • Share / Blog
    • Digg This
    • del.icio.us
    • Newsvine
    • Facebook
    • Reddit
    • Furl It
    • !Y My Web
    • Google
  • Print

Cigarettes and Chewing Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural crop that is used to make cigarettes. It is grown all over the world and supports a billion-dollar industry. Tobacco is dried and processed, then either placed into cigarettes and processed, or manufactured for chewing tobacco. The psychoactive ingredient is nicotine, a stimulant, but more than 4,000 other chemicals (2,000 of which are known to be poisonous) are present in cigarettes.

Tobacco is a nervous system stimulant that triggers complex biochemical and neurotransmitter disruptions. It elevates heart rate and blood pressure, constricts blood vessels, irritates lung tissue, and diminishes your ability to taste and smell.


Back to top

Girl reading
  • For Parents
  • Contact PAMF
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

© 2009 Palo Alto Medical Foundation. All rights reserved.