But the parallel reasoning for growing your own — that homegrown tobacco is healthier by virtue of having none of the additives found in commercial cigarettes, as purported on various Internet sites — unfortunately is not true. The stuff will still kill you.
Not even marginally less harmful
Terms such as “healthier” or “safer” — as in the elusive safer cigarette that the tobacco industry is trying to create — should tell you who is shaping this argument. The proper term is “less harmful,” and even this is highly suspect. You’re still breathing in myriad cancer-causing agents; one or two fewer carcinogens, like one or two fewer bullets from a machine gun, doesn’t matter.
Commercial tobacco does contain a lot of junk. The industry has hundreds of additives in its arsenal to make cigarette smoking a more pleasant and addictive experience. Some of these additives are carcinogenic. But good ol’ natural tobacco, particularly when burned, has upwards of 40 known or probable carcinogens that trump any harm done by additives.
Also, homegrown tobacco still has those same wonderful heart-stopping qualities causing higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol levels, and higher risk of artery clotting and stroke.
Part of the blame for the confusion goes to the anti-smoking movement. Its emphasis on tobacco additives has implied that natural tobacco is somehow healthier.
Maybe worse
While gardening is therapeutic, there’s irony in every puff of organic, homegrown tobacco, because the nicotine you’re absorbing is a deadly pesticide.
First, be careful handling fresh tobacco leaves. Touching wet leaves can cause green tobacco sickness, a type of nicotine poisoning. The sickness frequently affects tobacco harvesters, usually migrant workers lacking adequate protection.
Children exposed to high levels of nicotine from wet leaves often require hospitalization.
Next, should you succeed in growing your own, note that your exposure to the most deadly carcinogens — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene — might be greater than that from a regular cigarette, depending on the type of tobacco, the nature of the rolling, and the probable lack of filter. Thousands of chemicals are created by lighting tobacco, and the quantity of poisons varies based on airflow, temperature and other factors.
