Almost everyone who smokes cigarettes knows that 'tobacco kills'. It is always thought that nicotine present in tobacco and toxins that get released during smoking does all the destruction. Studies have shown that as many as 5400 identified toxic chemicals get ingested into the body when a person smokes and they can result in several cardiovascular diseases, respiratory ailments, and cancer. But there is something more lethal in cigarettes, tobacco in general, and stored cigarettes in particular that anyone who is consuming tobacco, in any of its forms, should be aware of. That is fungal and bacterial microbes that germinate in tobacco.
In chewable forms of tobacco, when the tobacco is left in humid conditions for days, white patchy layers of molds or fungal growth can be seen. They can also be visibly seen on moldy cigarettes - cigarettes that are stored longer than their expiry dates in conditions favorable for fungal growth in tobacco. The danger lies where you cannot see them visibly. In many expired cigarettes, they can be observed as tiny dots or powdery particles on the outer layer of a cigarette.
Now, when a person smokes them, they not only carry nicotine and other carcinogenic toxins into the lungs and through the gas chambers of the lungs to other parts of the body, but also biologically active pathogenic compounds (like Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus terreus) and extremely lethal toxins, generated when fungal molds are burned, like mycotoxins, endotoxins, etc. Some reports do indicate that these pathogenic compounds do not get killed even when a cigarette is burnt. They survive extreme temperatures, and once they enter the human body, they cause a number of severe health effects including liver cancer. It can form colonies in the lungs or bronchial tracks, worsening conditions of asthma. And when the pathogenic compounds enter the blood, they can start killing red blood cells at increased rates and the liver may find it harder to get rid of the dead cells, giving rise to increased blood bilirubin levels like in Gilbert Syndrome, resulting in liver dysfunction.
The presence of bacterial and fungal growth in tobacco, right from its harvest to curing, fermentation and even during storage has been clinically proven through several well-documented studies. Even tests conducted on notable tobacco brands have revealed this. As a matter of fact, tobacco manufacturing companies themselves are in possession of reports that prove the presence of biologically active microbes in various stages of production and storage. Somehow these truths about tobacco remain suppressed or not widely spoken, in spite of the fact that they clearly show a highly lethal angle of tobacco consumption.
Now in cigarettes stored beyond their shelf-life, we may observe gradual and even active germination of microbes. If smoking can kill, smoking moldy cigarettes can definitely kill, perhaps even faster. There are sellers, even individuals who buy and store cigarettes in lots to manage price influx of cigarettes. We can see many duty-paid shops do this. Some even get cheaper expired cigarettes smuggled from the middle east or east Asian countries like Myanmar and Korea. They may look lucrative as foreign cigarettes or even as cheaper options. For the stockist and seller, the margins they get from selling expired cigarettes is very high, but for someone who smokes them, health hazards are even higher. This trade is still flourishing, flouting all norms. It may continue until a major crackdown on the illegal trade of cigarettes and tobacco is carried out.
The best thing you could do is to quit smoking, but if you can't do that, make smoking occasional or bring it to the least minimum numbers. It may help you quit eventually. And when buying imported cigarettes or any other tobacco products, look for the date of manufacture, and the date when they were imported. If you are not sure, just don't buy them.
References and recommended links for further reading:
http://moldinspectionpro.com/mold-tobacco/
http://moldinspectionpro.com/aspergillus/
https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=pnxp0205
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jo/2011/819129/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jo/2011/819129/tab1/
http://thewhistleblowers.info/effective-smoke-screen-if-you-get-caught-smuggling-cigarettes-blame-the-distributor/
In chewable forms of tobacco, when the tobacco is left in humid conditions for days, white patchy layers of molds or fungal growth can be seen. They can also be visibly seen on moldy cigarettes - cigarettes that are stored longer than their expiry dates in conditions favorable for fungal growth in tobacco. The danger lies where you cannot see them visibly. In many expired cigarettes, they can be observed as tiny dots or powdery particles on the outer layer of a cigarette.
Now, when a person smokes them, they not only carry nicotine and other carcinogenic toxins into the lungs and through the gas chambers of the lungs to other parts of the body, but also biologically active pathogenic compounds (like Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus terreus) and extremely lethal toxins, generated when fungal molds are burned, like mycotoxins, endotoxins, etc. Some reports do indicate that these pathogenic compounds do not get killed even when a cigarette is burnt. They survive extreme temperatures, and once they enter the human body, they cause a number of severe health effects including liver cancer. It can form colonies in the lungs or bronchial tracks, worsening conditions of asthma. And when the pathogenic compounds enter the blood, they can start killing red blood cells at increased rates and the liver may find it harder to get rid of the dead cells, giving rise to increased blood bilirubin levels like in Gilbert Syndrome, resulting in liver dysfunction.
The presence of bacterial and fungal growth in tobacco, right from its harvest to curing, fermentation and even during storage has been clinically proven through several well-documented studies. Even tests conducted on notable tobacco brands have revealed this. As a matter of fact, tobacco manufacturing companies themselves are in possession of reports that prove the presence of biologically active microbes in various stages of production and storage. Somehow these truths about tobacco remain suppressed or not widely spoken, in spite of the fact that they clearly show a highly lethal angle of tobacco consumption.
Now in cigarettes stored beyond their shelf-life, we may observe gradual and even active germination of microbes. If smoking can kill, smoking moldy cigarettes can definitely kill, perhaps even faster. There are sellers, even individuals who buy and store cigarettes in lots to manage price influx of cigarettes. We can see many duty-paid shops do this. Some even get cheaper expired cigarettes smuggled from the middle east or east Asian countries like Myanmar and Korea. They may look lucrative as foreign cigarettes or even as cheaper options. For the stockist and seller, the margins they get from selling expired cigarettes is very high, but for someone who smokes them, health hazards are even higher. This trade is still flourishing, flouting all norms. It may continue until a major crackdown on the illegal trade of cigarettes and tobacco is carried out.
The best thing you could do is to quit smoking, but if you can't do that, make smoking occasional or bring it to the least minimum numbers. It may help you quit eventually. And when buying imported cigarettes or any other tobacco products, look for the date of manufacture, and the date when they were imported. If you are not sure, just don't buy them.
References and recommended links for further reading:
http://moldinspectionpro.com/mold-tobacco/
http://moldinspectionpro.com/aspergillus/
https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=pnxp0205
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jo/2011/819129/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jo/2011/819129/tab1/
http://thewhistleblowers.info/effective-smoke-screen-if-you-get-caught-smuggling-cigarettes-blame-the-distributor/