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Cigarette allergies: what is to blame for the deadly smoke?
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
According to research conducted around the world, allergy to cigarettes (that is, to the tobacco smoke inhaled when smoking ) is the least of the evils that smoking brings to human health.
The harm of cigarettes, as the most popular "source" of nicotine, is not limited to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and the real threat of oncological diseases of the respiratory organs. The list of the most probable diseases of smokers includes osteoporosis, hyperplasia, dysplasia, periodontal disease, pancreas, cardiovascular and reproductive systems.
Experiments have shown that cigarette smoke exposure causes abnormal serum lipid concentrations and changes in blood coagulant levels; at the molecular level, DNA and RNA changes, somatic mutations, and chromosomal aberrations occur in smokers' tissues.
[ Causes of Cigarette Allergy: Tobacco or Chemical Components of Cigarette Smoke?
The contents of cigarettes is tobacco, which, like tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, henbane and nightshade itself, belongs to the nightshade family (Solanum). Of the three tobacco alkaloids - anabasine, ornicotine and nicotine - the most famous is nicotine, part of the molecule of which is similar to an important neurotransmitter of the human central nervous system, acetylcholine. It is a drop of this alkaloid that should, in theory, kill a horse... For humans, nicotine is a potent neuro- and cardiotoxin (i.e. poison), and for the plant itself, it is merely protection from harmful insects.
Scientists are still trying to figure out how cigarette allergies are related to the chemical composition of the raw materials used to produce them. Until recently, it was believed that cigarette allergies had no immune component and were essentially a typical allergic reaction to an external irritant. That is, immune cells (antibodies) do not react to tobacco, and only the flavors added by manufacturers to tobacco products (for example, menthol) can cause cigarette allergies. In extreme cases, allergies are provoked by the remains of insecticides used to treat tobacco plantations. Or cigarette paper, which is impregnated with ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate) to speed up combustion. In addition, no one knows what “secondary tobacco” contains - that is, tobacco dust and waste from tobacco production, which are used to fill cheap cigarettes...
During the drying and fermentation process, the chemical composition of tobacco leaves is approximately as follows: nicotine (0.2-4.6%), carbohydrates (1.6-23%), organic di- and tricarboxylic acids (9-16%), proteins (6.4-13%), polyphenols and phenolic glycosides (1.2-7.5%), pectins (10-14%), phenolic glycosides (2-6%), essential oils (up to 1.5%), resins (2.5-5%).
It is the protein content that is the biochemical basis for the development of a real allergy to cigarettes (as well as to flower pollen or animal hair).
As for cigarette smoke, as a result of pyrolysis (thermal decomposition of organic substances) during smoking, over 4 thousand chemical compounds are formed, of which about 200 are poisonous, 14 are narcotic and 44 are carcinogenic. The gas phase of cigarette smoke contains: nitrogen and its oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide), acetaldehyde, methane, hydrogen cyanide (hydrogen cyanide), nitric acid, acetone, ammonia, methanol, specific nitrosamines (acrolein, benzene and benzopyrene), nitrobenzene, carboxylic acids, phenols, cresols, naphthols, naphthalenes. Among the 76 metals found in cigarette smoke are nickel, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead, strontium, cesium and polonium - in the form of radioactive isotopes.
So what causes cigarette allergies? Skin testing studies with experimental tobacco allergens have shown that both tobacco antigens and cigarette smoke antigens can stimulate the body's immune response (i.e. activate T-lymphocytes). They can also increase irritation in those who are generally prone to allergies.
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Cigarette Allergy
Symptoms of cigarette allergy (including so-called “passive smoking”) are expressed in the development of such allergic diseases as atopic bronchitis, vasomotor rhinitis and dermatitis.
Symptoms of cigarette allergy manifest themselves in the form of irritation of the mucous membrane of the eyes (redness and tearing), swelling of the mucous membrane of the nose (the nose is blocked, it is impossible to breathe freely, attacks of sneezing overcome). As a rule, there is a sore throat and hoarseness, pain in the throat, cough (without phlegm). Shortness of breath with wheezing may appear. Itchy rashes on the skin and its swelling are not excluded.
Diagnosis of cigarette allergy includes finding out the patient's complaints and collecting anamnesis. In domestic allergology, there is no special test (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) for cigarette allergy, so the diagnosis is made based on the assessment of the clinical picture of the disease. In this case, if measures aimed at complete isolation from contact with cigarette smoke lead to the disappearance of pathological signs, then it becomes obvious that the person has an allergy to cigarettes.
Treatment for cigarette allergy
Treatment of cigarette allergy should be agreed with a doctor, who can prescribe antiallergic (antihistamine) drugs that block histamine H1 receptors and completely relieve most symptoms of cigarette allergy. The most modern drugs in this class include Astemizole and Loratadine.
Astemizole is prescribed to adults and children over 12 years old - 10 mg once a day (orally on an empty stomach), children aged 6-12 years - 5 mg in the form of tablets or suspension, under 6 years - 2 mg for every 10 kg of body weight only in the form of suspension. The maximum treatment period is 7 days. Side effects of Astemizole: weakness, headache, decreased blood pressure, palpitations, dry mouth, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, drowsiness, in some cases - sleep disorders. Contraindications for this drug are hypersensitivity, pregnancy, breastfeeding and children under 2 years of age.
The antihistamine drug Loratadine is available in tablet and syrup form. The method of its use for adults and children over 12 years old is 1 tablet once a day. Children aged 2-12 years are prescribed with a body weight of up to 30 kg - half a tablet, over 30 kg - one tablet once a day. Children under 2 years old are prescribed Loratadine syrup. Side effects are very rare (dry mouth and vomiting). The drug is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity to its components and during lactation.
To treat cigarette allergy in the form of atopic bronchitis - to stop coughing fits and relieve the feeling of suffocation - various bronchodilators are used. For example, Salbutamol inhalation aerosol (Astalin, Ventolin) is used in a dosage of 2-4 mg up to 4 times a day. This drug has a rapid bronchodilator effect that lasts for at least 4 hours. The drug has contraindications in the form of hypersensitivity to the substances included in its composition, pregnancy and childhood under 4 years. Possible side effects include headache, dizziness, edema, urticaria, arterial hypotension, tremor, tachycardia.
Prevention of cigarette allergy
The most effective prevention of cigarette allergy is to stop inhaling deadly smoke. This is the most radical and, most importantly, healthy step. After all, according to WHO, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable mortality and one of the main health problems worldwide. During the 20th century, smoking caused at least 100 million cases of premature death.
At the same time, inhalation of smoke by a non-smoker, the so-called "passive smoking", can not only cause an allergy to cigarettes, but also lead to much more serious consequences. The US Environmental Protection Agency claims that lung cancer from "passive smoking" annually takes the lives of about 3 thousand Americans, and 26 thousand people become asthmatics. Children and adolescents are especially at risk of developing health problems: children living in a family of smokers are 6 times more likely to develop lower respiratory tract infections and allergies.