How It Works 035
DID YOU KNOW?
Do cigarette
filters work?
Beforethe1950scigarettesweresmoked
withouttheuseofa barrierbetweenleaf
andlips.However,asconcernsbeganto
growaboutthepotentiallydamaging
effectsoflightingup,theproductionof
cigarettefiltersbegan.Manufacturers
promisedspongyplasticcellulose-
acetatefilterswerea waytoremovethe
majorityofsmoke– andthusthe
dangeroustarandnicotine– from
enteringthebody.Thiswasbelievedto
beduetotheperforationswithinthe
filterallowingmoreairthroughandless
smoke.However,onceaddictedthebody
cravesa certainamountofnicotine:
filtersreducetheamountofnicotine
inhaled,whichmeansthatsmokersturn
tolightanothercigaretteuntiltheycan
satisfytheircraving.Cigarettefiltershaveaccountedforaround 40 per
centofalllitterfoundincoastalregionsAnnually around 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded, littering streets and natural habitats
How smoking causes a bottleneck of blood cells
and increases the risk of a heart attackBlood vessel
congestion
© Getty© Shutterstockhttp://www.h r i.Plaquewall
Overtimesmokingaidsin
plaquedevelopmentbetweenthe
intimaandmedialayersofthe
bloodvessel.Trafficjam
Astheplaquewallsgrowcloser
together,a narrowpassageway
developsforbloodtocross,
leadingcellstobunchupand
potentiallyclogthevessel.Stickyblood
Nicotinein thebloodmakesthe
tinycellsresponsibleforforming
bloodclots,calledplatelets,very
sticky,thusincreasingtheriskof
anunwantedclot.Bloodvessel
Yourbloodvesselsaremade
upofseverallayersof
tissue,thetunicaadventitia,
mediaandintima.Damage
Knownasatherosclerosis,these
bloodcellsbottleneckandcan
leadtoa congestionin bloodflow
andthedisruptionofyour
heartbeat,potentiallycausinga
fatalheartattack.Dopamine
Thesignalgeneratedbythe
presenceofnicotineculminates
in theproductionofdopamine,a
neurotransmitterassociatedwith
creatingthefeelingofpleasure.Brainsignal
Mimickingthebody’s
naturallyproduced
neurotransmitter,
acetylcholine,nicotine
sendsfalsesignals
throughbraincells.Long-termexposure
Overtime,themorenicotinethat
entersthebody,themore
receptorsawaititsarrival.