A cigarette, also known colloquially as a fag in British English, is a narrow cylinder containing

psychoactive material, usually tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. Most cigarettes contain
a "reconstituted tobacco" product known as "sheet", which consists of "recycled [tobacco] stems, stalks,
scraps, collected dust, and floor sweepings", to which are added glue, chemicals and fillers; the product
is then sprayed with nicotine that was extracted from the tobacco scraps, and shaped into curls.[1] The
cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder and allowing smoke to be inhaled from the other
end, which is held in or to the mouth. Most modern cigarettes are filtered, although this does not make
them safer. Cigarette manufacturers have described cigarettes as a drug administration system for the
delivery of nicotine in acceptable and attractive form.[2][3][4][5] Cigarettes are addictive (because of
nicotine) and cause cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and other health
problems.

The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette but is sometimes used to refer to
other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually
smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Cigar wrappers are
typically composed of tobacco leaf or paper dipped in tobacco extract.

Smoking rates have generally declined in the developed world, but continue to rise in developing
nations.[6][7][8] Cigarettes carry serious health risks, which are more prevalent than with other tobacco
products, nicotine is also highly addictive.[9] About half of cigarette smokers die of tobacco-related
disease[10] and lose on average 14 years of life.[9] Cigarette use by pregnant women has also been
shown to cause birth defects, including low birth weight, fetal abnormalities, and premature birth.[11]
Second-hand smoke from cigarettes causes many of the same health problems as smoking, including
cancer,[12][13][14][15] which has led to legislation and policy that has prohibited smoking in many
workplaces and public areas. Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 chemical compounds, including
arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, lead, nicotine, carbon monoxide, acrolein, and other poisonous
substances.[16] Over 70 of these are carcinogenic.[17] Additionally, cigarettes are a frequent source of
mortality-associated fires in private homes, which prompted both the European Union and the United
States to ban cigarettes that are not fire-standard compliant from 2011 onwards.[18][19]