Contrary to what is expected, it is not inhaled into the lungs as happens in cigarettes, and there is no type of tobacco that is safe for health, whether smoking filter cigarettes or using so-called electronic cigarettes. Therefore, we show you the difference between cigarettes and cigars closely to educate young people about the danger. Both.
First the cigar
1- Air-cured and fermented tobacco, which consists of only one type.
2- Wrapped in a tobacco leaf.
3- The amount of nicotine in it is 100-200 mg, which is 10 to 20 times the amount of nicotine found in a regular cigarette.
4-The cigar smoking process lasts from 30 – 120 minutes.
5- Cigars do not have a filter, and the vast majority do not inhale them into the lungs, but only into the oral cavity.
6- The paper on which the cigar is wrapped has fewer microscopic openings for air to pass than paper. Internal combustion of tobacco is incomplete, resulting in highly toxic chemicals that are transferred in full concentration to the smoker’s mouth and throat.
Cigars are marketed internationally as tobacco for high-end people. Cigar advertisements often feature famous figures such as politicians, businessmen, or famous American actors in violent and action roles, or wrestlers. Therefore, cigars have become a symbol of power, influence, and extreme wealth.
Secondly, cigarettes
1-A mixture of several types of tobacco.
2- Wrapped in synthetic paper only.
3- The process of smoking a cigarette lasts only 10 minutes.
4- They often have a filter and are inhaled into the lungs used in cigarettes.
One of the strange things is that cigarettes contain less nicotine and have a filter to prevent the burning nicotine from entering the lungs. They have an official warning on each package, while cigars that contain more nicotine do not have a filter and do not have any official warning phrases on them!
How is a cigar different from a cigarette in terms of health?
There is no doubt that smoking cigars is more dangerous to health than smoking cigarettes because it contains a greater amount of nitrosamines, which are known to be a carcinogenic substance when compared to cigarettes, due to the fermentation of tobacco before wrapping it in the dried leaves designated for that purpose. This substance is absorbed through the mucous membrane surrounding the mouth and throat, and the concentration of the substances increases. The greater the number of cigars or the longer the period of time for smoking them, which increases:
1- The percentage of heart disease in cigarettes is approximately 200%, including coronary artery disease. Lung diseases, including chronic bronchitis.
2- The probability of chronic lung diseases is 150% compared to traditional cigarettes.
3- Cancer of the mouth, tongue, larynx, and esophagus. It is equal between the two categories of smokers, and the difference between them appears in lung cancer, as both of them increase the rate of oral diseases. It has been found that cigar smoking is associated with many oral and dental diseases, including gum disease and tooth loss. It also causes lung and mouth cancer. And the lips, tongue, throat, larynx and esophagus. Cigarette smoking is considered the strongest influence because cigars are rarely inhaled into the lungs, but the strange thing is that the ratio is equal between them if the amount of cigars per day exceeds five units per day.
4- Nicotine is addicted in both cases because it is absorbed through the mouth, especially the large size of Cuban cigars, which may contain an amount of nicotine equal to an entire pack of cigarettes.
5- Cigar smoke affects non-smokers who inhale its smoke more than cigarette smoke, as cigar smoke contains higher amounts of toxins than cigarettes.
6- In most cases, the smoker needs a longer time to finish the cigar, and multiple smoking periods per day, which means exposing the lungs and respiratory system to larger amounts of toxic smoke.
