The Secret Ingredients of Cigarettes

Most of us assume that cigarettes are simply tobacco rolled up in paper, but that FAR from the truth: many OTHER ingredients–many of them SECRET–are added to the mix.

So far, over 600 of these ingredients have been identified, including Ammonia, Glycerol, Propylene glycol, Cocoa and cocoa shells, Licorice, Diammonium phosphate, Urea, Menthol (which makes it harder to quit), St. John’s Bread, Chocolate, Potassium sorbate, Prune juice and concentrate, Levulinic acid, Angelica Root, Nutmeg powder and oil, Dandelion root solid extract, cardamom oil, carob bean extract, cinnamon oil, coffee extract, coriander oil, corn syrup and an oil made from camomile flowers. Also added (in the past) have been secretions from the anal glands of the civet cat and the Siberian beaver.

Various types of sugars are added because, when burned, they produce acetaldehydes, which increase the addictive potency of the nicotine.

In the September 1st edition of the Wall Street Journal, Robert N. Proctor writes: "Global consumption of cigarettes has now reached six trillion sticks a year, which turns out to be more than 300 million miles of cigarettes–enough to make a continuous chain from the Earth to the sun and back, with enough left over for a couple of side trips to Mars. On that long journey, smokers deserve to know exactly what’s in their cigarettes, and why."

The secret we like best is The Secret of Orenda. The Indians may have brought tobacco to the West, but they brought magic too (and knowledge of the Visitors–NOTE: Subscribers can listen to these two provocative interviews).