AIM

The aim of this experiment is to study the effects of tobacco smoke on plants. As the social awareness for the damages of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and shisha tobacco or Mu’assel, has grown. I wanted to investigate what were the damages on plants, as they are around us all the time and the smoke does affect them. My hypothesis is that dried tobacco leaves smoke damages the health of plants, therefore has a harmful effect over plants.

Materials

• Nylon
• Two plastic tables
• 12 pots
• 6 petunias (flowering plant)
• Arugula seeds
• Metal bands
• 63 cigarettes
• One ashtray
• Water spray bottle
• Water
• Lighter

Methodology and Procedure

First of all we should start by addressing what tobacco is.
Tobacco is a plant, with more than 70 species. Dried tobacco leaves are smoked.
“Composition of nicotine: nicotine is the most abundant of the volatile alkaloids in the tobacco leaf. Nicotine is a colourless and volatile liquid alkaloid found in smoking and smokeless tobacco which turns brown and acquires the odour of tobacco upon exposure to air.” *1
The first thing I did was to think of a way to retain the smoke of the cigarettes in a certain area so the plants could respire it. Immediately I thought of the green house effect and how gases are retained in the atmosphere, so I decided to design small greenhouses (seen is appendix #1). I used two plastic tables, turned them around and cover them with nylon, and secured it with metal bands.
Inside each table I placed