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4000 CHEMICALS DEMONSTRATION
This is an excellent demonstration to use with the class.
ACTIVITY: 4000 CHEMICALS
This is 15-20 minute activity to visually demonstrate to the students
some of the toxic ingredients within cigarettes.
MATERIALS you will need to gather in advance:
BATTERIES have cadmium
CLEANSER CONTAINING AMMONIA has ammonia
NAIL POLISH REMOVER has acetone
VINEGAR has acetic acid
LIGHTER has butane
PURE DENATURED ALCOHOL has ethanol (Found in
products such as varnish -- find in hardware stores)
INSECTICIDE has DDT
CANDLE WAX has stearic acid
JAR OF MOLASSES W/O THE LABEL represents tar
SMALL TOY CAR represents carbon monoxide
Label each of the items with the representative toxic ingredient.
Have a listing of all the chemicals found in tobacco and talk about the
ones known to cause cancer. (The resource “What’s in Cigarette
Smoke” will provide this list.) Talk about the poisons such as arsenic
and cyanide that are in cigarettes. Also talk about formaldehyde,
which is used to preserve dead bodies. Give them a moment to think
about these chemicals actually being in cigarettes and that people
smoke them.
Now pick up each one of the samples you have labeled and talk
about them.
Vinegar: the main ingredient in vinegar is acetic acid. Why would
you want to smoke something like this? When you think of vinegar
you think of salad dressing.
Lighter: Cigarettes contain butane, which is the fluid in this lighter.
Denatured Alcohol: There is a skull and crossbones on this bottle to
indicate that it contains poison. You wouldn’t drink it. So why would
someone smoke it?
Insecticide: There’s DDT in cigarettes and this is what is in
insecticide to kill bugs. Just imagine what smoking is doing to a
person’s insides?
Candle: Stearic acid is in candle wax, also in soap, cocoa butter,
lotions and other lubricants.
Nail Polish remover has acetone in it to take off nail polish and it’s in
cigarettes
Cleanser: The smell of ammonia can make you sick, just imagine
inhaling it
Batteries: cadmium is found in batteries, a mineral that can damage
lungs, stomach, liver and kidneys
Molasses to represent the tar—visualize tar that is used to fix a roof
and that’s what’s in the cigarette.
Toy car: The tailpipe on a vehicle releases CO2 and so does the
cigarette. CO2 stays in a smoker’s blood up to six hours.
Follow up by leading a discussion: Do you think people who smoke
know what’s in the cigarette? If they’ve been told then how come
they still smoke?
Source: Tobacco Prevention Curriculum, “Teen Smoking, Pack It Up”, Bureau for At Risk
Youth, For middle school and high school students, using peer educators.