In scientific terms, smoke is what’s known as an ‘aerosol’.
That means liquid and/or solid particles suspended in gas. Clouds, deodorant spray—even steam from a kettle—they’re all aerosols. We all know it when we see or smell it. But how much do we know about it?
While all smoke is an aerosol, not all aerosols are smoke. Smoke is a specific type of aerosol which carries by-products of burning. These are a complex mixture of carbon-based solid particles, and liquid particles, including many harmful and potentially harmful chemicals. This is why smoking is so harmful.
The smoke from a burning cigarette contains over 6,000 different chemical compounds, over 100 of which are classified as causes or potential causes of smoking related diseases by public health authorities.
There’s no question: the best choice for people who smoke is to quit. But for adult smokers who don’t choose to quit using tobacco or nicotine altogether, they can still cut out the smoke by switching to scientifically substantiated smoke-free products such as-e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products or modern oral products.
From the outside, use of products such as e-cigarettes or heated tobacco may look similar to cigarette use, and there are some similarities. They still produce an aerosol which contains flavours and nicotine, just as smoking does. The difference is the output. Because they don't burn anything, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products produce aerosols that contain greatly reduced levels of harmful chemicals like the ones found in cigarette smoke. This means that, while not as good as quitting altogether, and not risk-free, smoke-free alternatives can be a much better choice for adults than continued smoking.
The best choice any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether, however, for adults who don’t quit, smoke-free products are a much better choice than continued smoking because they have the potential to reduce harmful by-products of burning found in cigarette smoke.
Learn about smoke-free alternatives: Ways to Unsmoke
