Tobacco

by Claire Powell and Dave Collett

Whats in a cigarette? Whats in a puff?

Tobacco smoke contains (1)_______________________, some of which are
harmful, others deadly. Here are (2)______________________.

Tar
Tar, a mixture of chemicals such as formaldehyde, arsenic and
cyanide,
can
cause
serious
lung
diseases.
(3)________________________ remains in the smokers lungs.

Nicotine
Many people are unaware that nicotine is (4)__________________
heroine. A powerful and fast-acting drug, nicotine reaches the
brain (5)__________________. One of the major effects of nicotine
is an increased (6)___________________.

Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is (7)___________________formed when a
cigarette is lit. The red blood cells absorb the gas more easily
than oxygen, so up to fifteen percent of a smokers blood may
be carrying carbon monoxide (8)__________________. Breathing
becomes more difficult because the heart has to work harder to
pump less oxygen around the body.

From seed to smoke

What do tomatoes and tobacco have in common? They are both a
member of the same botanical family. Tobacco is grown
(9)_________________________with China being the largest producer,
closely followed by the USA. Tobacco can grow well in poorer soils so a
typical farmer can expect (10)________________from planting this crop.
Seeds and fertiliser are often provided by British American Tobacco.
The seeds are so small that they must be protected in seedbeds for
sixty days(11)________________________. Two weeks later, soil is
carefully pushed up against the seedlings to further protect them and
help to develop a good root system. Finally, after a couple of months,
the flowering plants and some (12)____________________are cut to allow
more growth in the remaining leaves. The crop gradually grows
towards the harvesting stage.
Harvest
In most countries harvesting is done by hand. The farmer takes off a
few leaves from the lower part of each plant. A typical farmer can
expect to harvest (13)____________________. This is quite a lot
considering each plant contains around 22 leaves.

Curing
There are four main methods.
- Air-cured tobacco is hung in unheated, ventilated barns until the
tobacco dries and the tobacco leaf becomes a light to medium brown
colour.
- Flue-cured tobacco is made when heat is introduced into a barn
through pipes from a furnace outside. The leaves are heated until
they turn yellow.
- Sun-cured tobacco leaves are hung out on racks and exposed to the
suns rays. The direct heat turns the leaves a yellow to orange colour.
- For fire curing, wood is burnt under the tobacco leaves, which dries
the tobacco and produces a smoky fragrance.
Processing
There are four stages in processing. Dirt is removed from the cured
tobacco.
The
leaf
is
separated
from
the
stem,
(14)
(___________________________). The moisture content is checked
carefully. The processed tobacco is packed into 200kg cardboard
boxes, for (15)______________________________________.
Manufacturing
At the factory, the matured tobacco is checked for quality and then
carefully blended with other ingredients which are needed for the
brand
recipe,
such
as
flavourings.
Moisture content is crucial. Too dry and the tobacco leaf will crumble;
too moist and (16)______________________________. The blended tobacco
is treated with just the right amount of steam and water to make it
supple, and then cut into the form in which it appears in the cigarette.
The cut tobacco is then given a quality check.
Cigarette making, once done entirely by hand, is today
(17)___________________with the cut tobacco, cigarette paper and
filters continuously fed into the cigarette-making machines.
Packing machines put the cigarettes into the familiar brand packs,
wrap the packs in protective film and group them into cartons and
cases. The completed cases, time-dated to ensure the freshest
product possible, are then (18)_____________________.
1. Paying attention to cohesion and coherence put the
following expressions back into the text.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)

a good income
a poisonous gas
a process known as threshing
about 15,000 plants
about 4,000 chemicals
almost fully automated
before transplanting to the field
heart rate and blood pressure
in about seven seconds
in more than one hundred countries

k) instead of oxygen
l) it may spoil during storage
m) more addictive than
n) of the upper leaves
o) ready for distribution
p) seventy percent of the tar from tobacco smoke
q) shipping to manufacturing sites
r) three of the deadliest
2. Match each of the following words from the text with the
appropriate definition.
Addictive
Arsenic
Automate
Brand
Crumble
Spoil

Cure
Cyanide
Deadly
Fertilizer
Film
Formaldehyd
e
Stem
Furnace
Puff
Seedling
Supple

to break, or cause something to break, into small

pieces.
when something is no longer good enough to use.
a thin layer of plastic to cover and protect an object.
a strong smelling gas used for preservation.
to treat food, tobacco, etc. with smoke or salt, etc. in
order to stop it decaying, to preserve food.
to make a process in a factory or office operate by
machines or computers, in order to reduce the
amount of work done by humans and the time taken
to do the work.
a type of product made by a particular company.
a piece of equipment for heating a building.
the stick-like central part of a plant which grows
above the ground and from which leaves and flowers
grow.
a very strong poison that can kill people.
an amount of smoke inhaled each time a smoker
puts a cigarette to his/her mouth.
a highly poisonous substance.
bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff.
a natural or chemical substance used to make plants
grow.
very dangerous.
cause a strong need or desire to consume a
substance.
a young plant grown from a seed.