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The Disadvantages of Smoking Cigars

Smoking cigars---opposed to cigarettes---is believed by some people to be safer and more sophisticated. Aside from the idea of having a better "social status" when smoking cigars, some people just use it as an excuse just to continue a bad habit. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau defines a cigar as "any roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco." Since a cigar is largely similar to a cigarette in terms of its main ingredient, smoking them has almost the same problems that accompany cigarette smoking.

  1. Addiction

    • Cigars contain nicotine, a substance naturally found in tobacco that leads to tobacco dependence. A cigar is usually bigger than a cigarette and one cigar contains nicotine equal to several sticks of cigarettes. Although most cigar smokers do not inhale smoke, nicotine still enters the body through the mouth's lining. Even if a person only smokes one cigar a day, addiction to nicotine can be a future problem.

    High Risk of Cancer

    • Whether it's a cigar or a cigarette, a smoke that comes from tobacco can cause several types of cancer. Smoking cigars increases the odds of acquiring oral cancer up to seven times when compared to a non-smoker. Also, even if cigar smokers do not inhale smoke, their risk of getting a lung cancer is twice as possible when compared to non-smokers. Other cancer types that a cigar smoker may acquire include cancer of the throat, larynx and esophagus.

    Toxin Exposure

    • Tobacco contains about 100 substances known to be toxic to humans. When smoking a cigar, these toxins enter the body freely through the mouth and lungs. Cigars also contain cyanide, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and even arsenic. Aside from cancer, toxins increase the risk of other diseases and complications, like bronchitis and heart attacks.

    Risks of Second-Hand Smoke

    • People around cigar smokers can suffer from cigars as well. A tobacco smoke's toxic potency does not change, even when inhaled and exhaled by a smoker. Non-smokers who live around cigar smokers also can have high risks of getting the same complications. Since cigars are bigger and burn longer than cigarettes, a greater amount of second-hand smoke will be received per cigar compared with each cigarette.

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