eli5: If tobacco is a leaf, why does it have so many substances known to cause cancer?

Question

* Source is the packaging I’ve just read for a pack of tobacco in the UK which says it has 70 cancer causing substances

In: 2

Answer 1

It has an insane amount of chemical additives, probably varies between brands and countries but in the UK there are 600 different permitted additives, sugars, moisturisers, pesticides, heavy metals etc. These are used for reasons such as flavour enhancement, protecting the plant when growing, and prolonging the shelf life of the cigarettes.