Formaldehyde – Another Cancer Concern Related to Smoking

Two more alarming facts to consider if you are a smoker, as if you didn’t already have a myriad of reasons to kick the habit: firstly- there is formaldehyde present in cigarette smoke and secondly – formaldehyde causes cancer in humans. This is another way that this nasty habit can not only harm to you or kill you, but do harm to or kill your loved ones.

In conditions of limited exposure, the effects of formaldehyde don’t seem overly frightening you may experience any or all of the following; burning and watering of the eyes, irritation in the throat and nasal passages, coughing and nausea. In levels of high exposure over prolonged periods of time, the effects of formaldehyde exposure become much more ominous, potentially leading to nasal and or bronchial cancer even leukemia.

Studies have been conducted regarding the effects of exposure to formaldehyde for almost thirty years, in 1980 there were findings that prolonged exposure lead to nasal cancer in laboratory rats, later studies throughout the nineties prompted the International Agency for Research on Cancer to list formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen. In 2004 reevaluations of prior studies along with continued research led to formaldehyde to be classified as a known carcinogen.

There are many others things containing formaldehyde that people could find themselves in contact with: it’s found in plywood and fiberboard, some glues and adhesives and some permanent pressed fabrics and disinfectants. Formaldehyde is normally most recognized as a preservative used by mortuaries.

According to an article published in 1982 in the American Journal of Public Health, the levels of formaldehyde in the smoke emitted from a smoldering cigarette are over three times what is considered the occupational limit. People are exposed and experience the negative effects of formaldehyde as it is released into the air.

Aside from the sources mentioned above formaldehyde exposure can also occur from automobile emissions, some burning gasses, and some burning woods. Generally speaking, the higher the temperature of the source emitting the formaldehyde, the greater the level of formaldehyde emitted and conversely the lower the temperature of the source the less emission.

If materials in your home are releasing formaldehyde into the air, the levels can be decreased by increasing the ventilation. Opening doors and windows and circulating fresh air over a period of time will decrease the levels of formaldehyde in the air. Another way to rid the air in your home of formaldehyde is to remove the source of the emission.

With all of the glaringly obvious reasons to kick the habit, the addiction of nicotine, the tar, the discoloration of teeth and damage to the gums, the ever increasing cost; people really shouldn’t need any other reasons to quit smoking. There are commercials on television and ads in magazines – paid for by tobacco companies telling all of us about the damage we are doing to ourselves by smoking. States are beginning to offer free hotlines to assist people in their efforts to quit, and cities are banning smoking from all public places. In my opinion it probably won’t be too many more years before the sale of cigarettes is illegal, but however long it takes will be too long.