Many people view cigar smoking as more civilized and sophisticated, as well as less dangerous than cigarette smoking. Yet one large cigar can contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes.
Most of the same cancer-causing substances found in cigarettes are found in cigars. And big cigars have as much nicotine as several cigarettes. When cigar smokers inhale, nicotine is absorbed as quickly as it is with cigarettes. For those who do not inhale, it is absorbed more slowly through the lining of the mouth. Either way, nicotine can cause addiction.
Smoking cigars causes cancers of the lung, lip, tongue, mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), esophagus (swallowing tube), and probably cancers of the bladder and pancreas. Cigar smokers have a greater risk of dying from cancer of the mouth, larynx, or esophagus than non-smokers. The risk of death from lung cancer is not as high as it is for cigarette smokers, but is still many times higher than the risk for non-smokers.
Cigar smokers who inhale deeply and smoke several cigars a day are also at increased risk for heart disease and chronic lung disease. Those who don’t inhale are exposed to secondhand smoke, which also has many health risks.
Pipe smokers have an increased risk of dying from cancers of the lung, throat, esophagus, larynx, pancreas, and colon and rectum. They also have an increased risk of dying of heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease. The level of these risks seems to be about the same as that for cigar smokers.
Smoking cigars or pipes is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.
To learn more, please see our document called Cigar Smoking.
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