How are Cigarettes Made?

A cigarette is a highly manufactured thing. Unlike people might suspect, it isn't just made up of dread leaves. Before packaging, the tobacco is often combined with other additives in order to: enhance the addictive potency, shift the products pH, or improve the effects of smoke by making it more palatable. 

ASH and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund say that they have evidence - uncovered by a review of tobacco industry documents - that:

• Additives are used to make cigarettes that provide high levels of 'free' nicotine which increases the addictive kick of the product
• Additives are used to enhance the taste of tobacco smoke
• Sweeteners and chocolate are used to make cigarettes more palatable to children
• Eugenol and menthol are added to numb the throat to mask the aggravating effects of tobacco smoke
• Additives such as cocoa are used to dilate the airways allowing the smoke an easier and deeper passage into the lungs
• Additives are used to mask the smell and visibility of smoke that is not breathed in by the smoker

A spokesman for the manufacturers in the UK said the research was based on the situation in the US, and that in the UK 90% of cigarettes contained no additives.

Source: Cigarettes 'engineered' for addiction   BBC NEWS