Tobacco – The End Game: An Interdisciplinary Resource Pack
Health Improvement NHS Highland, 2014-15
Topic B
The hidden ingredients
Tobacco – The End Game: An Interdisciplinary Resource Pack
Health Improvement NHS Highland, 2014-15
Topic B: The hidden ingredients
Experiences and outcomes
 HWB 3-38a / HWB 4-38a
 HWB 3-41a / HWB 4-41a
Lesson: 1 of 1
Learning intention
We are learning about the harmful chemicals found in tobacco and
the risks of inhaling these chemicals.
.
Success criteria



I can list five chemicals found in the production of
cigarettes
I know another product which contains these chemicals
I know the effects these chemicals have on my body
Suggested learning and teaching activities
This lesson is likely to take [Insert Time Here].


Group/Class: S1- S4
Assessment
Pupils participate in group
discussions to consider
chemicals and their harms.
They then reconsider this in
light of further information
provided.
Resources
Guidance For Teachers:
A) Lesson Plan x1


In this lesson pupils will be given a selection of substances and asked to consider
whether or not each substance is: a) used in the production of cigarettes and b) safe to
use in/on their body.
B) Fast Facts x1
-
per group – cut into 23
Print off the sheets in the resources list: A) B) C) & D).
Open up the Power Point: What’s Up With Tobacco? Slide 1.
Introduce the topic for this session as What’s Up With Tobacco?
Share the learning intention and success criteria for the lesson.
Hand Outs For Pupils:
C) Substance Jar Sheet x1
individual jars and place in
an envelope.
D) Sorting Sheet x1 per
group.
Power Points:

Activity 1 – Sorting Substances:
1. Ask the pupils to divide themselves into groups. Give group an envelope with the Substance
Jars inside. Explain that each jar contains a substance that may or may not be used in the
production of cigarettes. Firstly, ask the pupils to group the jars according to those that they
believe would be safe to use in/on their bodies and those that would NOT be safe. Ask the pupils
to explain why or why not. Each group should then record the results on their Sorting Sheet.
Now ask them to group the jars according to those they believe are used in the production of
cigarettes and those that are not. Record the results.
2. Next explain that in fact ALL of these substances are used in the production of cigarettes! In
E) What’s Up With Tobacco
P.P
Key vocabulary
Tobacco, chemicals &
various substances
(Ammonia, Arsenic,
Cadmium, Carbon Monoxide
etc.)
 = Time = Lesson Outline  = Preparation  = Introduction = Main Activity
KEY:
= Plenary
Tobacco – The End Game: An Interdisciplinary Resource Pack
Health Improvement NHS Highland, 2014-15
light of this fact, ask pupils to now revisit their recorded results and reflect on those substances
that they considered would be unsafe to use in/on their bodies.
3. Slide 2 Explain that there are actually 4,000 chemicals in a cigarette and this slide shows just
some of them!
4. Ask the pupils to watch the Clip What’s in a Cigarette on GLOW to discover the scale and effects
of the chemical ingredients in cigarettes. What are smokers breathing in to their lungs, and what
effects are these chemicals having on them?

Different Shoes
Ask the pupils to consider how today’s lesson might have been different if it had been taught by 3
different people and why e.g. 1) One Direction 2) A Tobacco Company Boss 3) Wayne Rooney.
Try to choose personalities that pupils can connect with; pop stars, footballers etc.
Links to the school
tobacco policy:
The school is committed to
providing quality tobacco
prevention education based
on improving knowledge &
challenging mythologies,
exploring attitudes and
developing skills.
Suggested links to
the community:
Extra Guidance Notes:
Read the following paragraphs from ‘Cancer Research UK’ and then click on the links to find out more:
Teacher notes:
What’s in a cigarette? - A cigarette may look harmless enough - tobacco leaves covered in classic white
paper. But when it burns, it releases a dangerous cocktail of about 4,000 chemicals. Many of these are
found in common household products and products that people would not normally eat or drink: Read more
at Cancer Research UK
Concentrations of chemicals - Most of the harmful substances in tobacco smoke are found at low levels
in a single cigarette. But over months and years, many of them can build up to high levels in our bodies.
And they are even more dangerous when mixed together: Read more
Source of the chemicals in cigarettes - The chemicals in cigarettes come from the tobacco plant itself,
its surroundings, the manufacturing process, and burning the cigarette: Read more
 = Time = Lesson Outline  = Preparation  = Introduction = Main Activity
KEY:
= Plenary
Tobacco – The End Game: An Interdisciplinary Resource Pack
Health Improvement NHS Highland, 2014-15
Additives in cigarettes - The tobacco industry adds hundreds of additives to cigarettes to make it easier
to smoke and more appealing.
Cigarettes contain a wide range of additives, which vary by brand and can include chocolate, vanilla,
menthol, peppermint, sugar, liquorice, herbs and spices.
They may not be harmful themselves but they help to overcome the initial off-putting taste that new
smokers often experience: Read more
Cigarettes: maximum tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields
In 2001, an EU directive regulating tobacco products became law placing upper limits on yields of tar
(10mg), nicotine (1mg) and carbon monoxide (10mg) for all cigarettes manufactured and sold within the
EU.
In February 2014 a NEW EU directive was given overwhelming support, ushering in tough minimum
standards on tobacco. The new law called ‘The Tobacco Products Directive’ means that EU countries will
have to meet a number of conditions i.e. banning descriptions of tobacco flavours such as ‘fruit’ and ‘vanilla’
which we know appeal to young people and compulsory picture health warnings that cover 65 per cent of
the upper part of each pack on both sides.
The UK now has 2 years to bring national law in line with the directive: Read more
Cigarette packet labelling
Almost every product has a list of ingredients somewhere on the label. So isn’t it strange that there isn’t a
list of ingredients on a pack of cigarettes? If there were, it would be a really, really long list! But cigarette
companies are only required to display the carbon monoxide, nicotine and tar content of cigarettes and not
the chemicals, poisons and additives.
Manufacturers and importers of tobacco products are legally required to submit information, to the
Department of Health, on all ingredients used in the manufacture of tobacco products on an annual basis in
accordance with the Tobacco Products (Manufacture Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002
(Statutory Instrument 3041).
 = Time = Lesson Outline  = Preparation  = Introduction = Main Activity
KEY:
= Plenary
Tobacco – The End Game: An Interdisciplinary Resource Pack
Health Improvement NHS Highland, 2014-15
The 2003 version of the ‘list of permitted additives to tobacco products in the UK’ is the most up-to-date
version available to the public and can be accessed via the following link: DOH
 = Time = Lesson Outline  = Preparation  = Introduction = Main Activity
KEY:
= Plenary