Cigars? Cigarettes? Which Is Worse?

Everyone knows the risks of cigarette smoking. But what about cigars? Most people don’t inhale cigar smoke so it can’t be as bad for you!

Truth is, according to the National Cancer Intitute, smoking cigars on a regular basis can create major health problems. These include cancer of the larynx, lungs, oral cavity, esophagus, and now, according to new research, the pancreas! It has also been shown that regularly inhaling cigar smoke puts you at a greater risk of lung and heart disease.

Smoking cigars on a regular basis appears to increase your risks as opposed to occasional smoking. Inhaling cigar smoke increases your risks whether you are an occasional cigar smoker or not. So, smoking three to four cigars per day will increase your risks of some form of oral cancer eight fold as apposed to a nonsmoker. While there are no statistics available of the risks to the occasional cigar smoker, it does seem clear that smoking cigars on a daily basis dramtically increases serious health risks.

What about addiction? Cigar smokers do not become addicted as readily as cigarette smokers do to the simple fact of usage. Cigarettes packs of 20 are easy to carry with you and thereby easier to smoke more. Combining that with the fact that most cigarette smokers inhale deeply taking the nicotine directly into the body, addiction becomes easier and faster. Another thing is the time it takes to smoke a cigar compared to a cigarette. Cigarettes take about 5 minutes compared to a cigar which takes 1 hour or more, depending on size. That is not to say you will not become addicted to cigar smoking. Just ask anyone who uses smokeless tobacco. They never light or inhale the smoke. The nicotine in the tobacco is absorbed directly into the body making addiction about the same as cigarette smoking.

I know you are wondering why cigar smokers don’t smoke more often. One possible answer is that cigar smokers do not absorb as much nicotine as other tobacco users. This depends on the smoker and how often they smoke cigars. Cigars have long been considered a luxury and therefore not as readily available. Another thought is ability to smoke them. Since a cigar takes so long to smoke, and you are unable to smoke them in most public places, this cuts back on a cigar smokers ability to have them. Personally I will not smoke my cigars in the house since cigar smoke is offensive to some people. My preference is to smoke outside when time permits or while I am on the golf coarse.

One thing is clear about any tobacco product, your risk of health damage increases proportionately with use. If you smoke several cigars per day, your risk of damage to your health as well as the possibility of addiction to nicotine also increases.

GB
Walt

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 2:30 am and is filed under Cigars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.