The Health Risks of Cigar Smoking
We have all heard the risks associated with smoking cigarettes, but about cigar smoking?
Are the risks of smoking cigars just as dangerous, or more so?
According to the National Cancer Institute, regular cigar smoking can result in major health problems. Scientific research has linked cigar smoking with cancers of the larynx, lungs, esophagus, and oral cavity. This is because cigar smokers often tend to retain the smoke in their mouth and throat, instead of dragging it into their lungs.
Newer research also indicates that cigar smoking may be strongly linked to the development of pancreatic cancer. Doctors also caution that individuals who regularly inhale while enjoying a cigar are also at greater risk of developing lung disease and heart problems, due to the higher levels of tar in a cigar, as well as the lack of filter, which, in a cigarette, cuts down on the level of tars and toxins in the smoke.
The health threats of cigar smoking appear to increase dramatically in those individuals who smoke regularly and inhale while smoking. Someone who smokes three to four cigars each day will him or herself at eight times the risk of developing some kind of oral cancer than a nonsmoker. So, not only are cigars expensive, smelly and pretentious, they are also worse for your health than cigarettes.
We do not yet know the health risks of smoking the occasional cigar, but knowing what tobacco smoke does to you, in cigar or cigarette form, why would you put your body through that kind of trauma unnecessarily.
It seems clear however that smoking cigars on a daily basis can pose serious health risks.
Many individuals wonder if cigars are as addictive as cigarettes. Many wonder why, for instance, so many people become addicted to cigarettes, and not cigars?
The truth is that any tobacco product can become addictive because it contains nicotine. It is true that well made cigars do not have nicotine added to them, but they still have an addictive quality and there is no good reason to smoke them anyway, as they have no stimulating properties, especially with lower levels of nicotine than cigarettes.
Witness the effects of smokeless tobacco products on individuals. These products, such as chewing tobacco, can become very addictive, simply because they contain tobacco, which in turn contains nicotine. Many cigar smokers do not inhale deeply, thus causing the nicotine to be inhaled superficially. Cigarette smokers tend to inhale, causing the nicotine to be absorbed faster and more readily by the lungs. Even though most cigar smokers inhale the nicotine more superficially, it is still possible to become addicted if the user smokes cigars on a regular basis.
If nicotine is so addictive, why don’t cigar smokers smoke gradually more and more? It appears that more people avoid becoming ‘hooked’ on cigars for several reasons.
The most obvious reason is that the nicotine from cigars is inhaled much more superficially than in regular cigarette smoking, causing less nicotine to be absorbed by the body.
Also, cigars are not as readily accessible as cigarettes. They are viewed by most as a luxury item, saved for special occasions and used infrequently.
When cigars are smoked on a regular basis, they can become as addictive as cigarettes. The health risks of any kind of smoking increase dramatically as frequency of use increases.
Darren Williger is an over-caffeinated, low carbohydrate eating, non-smoking winemaking enthusiast who writes for SmokersWebsite.com, FitnessPad.com, and LifeSatori.com
