A Cancer Research UK survey states that the British public is not aware of poisonous chemicals in cigarette smoke.

A Cancer Research UK survey states that the British public is not aware of poisonous chemicals in cigarette smoke. The survey was carried out across the United Kingdom by British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), covering 1,600 people, including 500 smokers. More than 75 percent of those surveyed were ignorant, unable to name any chemical other than tar and nicotine. Around 40 percent could not even identify a single poison from the list provided to them.

Cigarette smoke contains 4000 chemicals, 69 of them cancer causing. Cancer Research UK has launched a new anti-tobacco campaign: ‘Smoke is Poison,’ to raise awarenes of arsenic, benzene and formaldehyde, among other poisons, in cigarette smoke.

The campaign includes a number of TV advertisements, as well as interviews of professional, such as scientists, undertakers, and a crime museum curator. The campaign also includes radio, internet and newspaper advertising, in addition to outdoor posters, washroom panels and beer mats.