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.
The gases or vapours make up about 90 percent of tobacco smoke. The major gas present is carbon monoxide. Others include formaldehyde, acrolein, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, pyridine, hydrogen cyanide, vinyl chloride, N-nitrosodimethylamine, and acrylonitrile. Of these, formaldehyde and vinyl chloride are suspected or known carcinogens in humans.