View source for Tar (tobacco residue)

{{otheruses2|tar}}

'''Tar''' is the common name for the [[resin]]ous partially combusted particulate matter produced by the burning of [[tobacco]], [[cannabis]], and other plant material in the act of [[Tobacco smoking|smoking]]. Tar is purportedly the most destructive component in habitual [[tobacco smoking]], accumulating in the smoker's [[lungs]] over time and damaging them through various biochemical and mechanical processes.

Tar includes the majority of [[mutagen]]ic and [[carcinogen]]ic agents in tobacco smoke (IARC, 1986). [[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s (PAH), for example, are [[genotoxic]] via [[epoxidation]].

There is a common misconception that the tar in [[cigarette]]s is equivalent to the [[tar]] used on roads. As a result of this, cigarette companies in the [[United States]], when prompted to give tar/[[nicotine]] ratings for cigarettes, usually use "tar", in quotation marks, to indicate that it is not the road surface component. Tar is occasionally referred to as an acronym for ''total aerosol residue''<ref>http://www.batmalaysia.com/oneweb/sites/BAT_62VKM3.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/C1256ED100527AA380256BF4000331A9?opendocument&DTC=&SID=</ref>
although it's possible this is a [[backronym]].

The [[European Union]] currently limits the tar yield of cigarettes to 10[[milligram|mg]].<ref>http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11567.htm</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Tobacco]]

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