Nick Greene is Editor-at-Large for MentalFloss.com. He has written about trying to ride the entire New York Subway system in one day, surviving the apocalypse without a spare set of contact lenses, and whether or not Elvis was actually any good at karate. Originally from Chicago, he currently lives in Brooklyn. View the discussion thread.
Ammonia (in Cigs). Ammonia is one of the many chemicals present in cigarettes. Ammonia is a chemical compound formed from the elements nitrogen and hydrogen. It has chemical formula: NH 3. At room temperature and pressure ammonia is a gas. It is toxic (poisonous), and corrosive to some materials, and has a strong and distinctive smell.
1 Ammonia -- used to increase the absorption rate of nicotine. 2  It's also used to clean your toilet, helps to treat wastewater (poop and pee) and is a key ingredient in liquid fertilizer. 3  Arsenic -- used as a pesticide on tobacco plants, it remains in the resulting cigarette. It's also found in nail polish remover and, like ammonia, is used to clean toilets. 2  Butane -- this byproduct is also used to help you light your cigarette, in the form of lighter fluid. 3  Propylene Glycol -- added to cigarettes to keep tobacco from drying out.