Cigars & Your Health

One question that seems to worry cigar smokers all the time is what effect does smoking cigars have on your health?

When I first started smoking cigars I took some time to inform myself on the health risks associated with smoking cigars and have continued to add to my knowledge about this topic ever since.

Smoking, in any form, is not healthy. It does not improve your health. I think the benefits of stress relief, which many smokers of cigars and cigarettes claim, are marginal at best compared to the smoking itself.

There are many studies out there that show how smoking cigars leads to an increased rate of lung, oral, and pancreatic and bladder cancers when compared to non-smokers. The main issue with these studies is that they do not differentiate between the types of cigars in terms of size (there is a huge difference between a double corona and a petite corona).

Another caveat in pretty much all studies is that they either neglect to look at occasional smokers (those who smoke LESS THAN 1 to 2 cigars PER DAY) or their findings are inconclusive for occasional smokers. A majority of those who smoke cigars can be classified as occasional smokers, myself included (I smoke 1 to 3 cigars PER WEEK).

Studies have shown that smoking 1-2 cigars PER DAY or more can lead to increased oral and esophageal cancer rates of up to 8 times greater than the non-smoking population. One interesting tidbit that I did find was that those that smoke 1 to 2 cigars per day actually have a lower risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers. Lung cancer risk if fairly negligible for cigar smokers AS LONG AS THEY DON'T INHALE (very few do as that is a fast track to throwing up or coughing up your lungs). Large amounts of alcohol paired with cigar smoking also tends to increase the risk of cancer.

If you are smoking 1 or more cigars per day you should be aware of the risks, as there seems to be a documented correlation between certain types of cancers and cigar smoking.

If you're an occasional smoker (like me) smoking a couple of cigars a week is probably no worse than eating some fast food or drinking alcohol. As long as it's in moderation the health risks of smoking cigars appear to be negligible. I also have to dispute the validity of claims that cigars are addictive.

I encourage people to always do their own research and to look at both sides of an issue before coming to a conclusion. One can certainly find a lot of B.S. online from both the anti-smoking crowd and the cigar-friendly smoking crowd. Hope this clears some things up!

Some Links:

1. http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/9/ - The National Cancer Institute monograph on cigars, pretty comprehensive. Compelling reading, but it is tinged with some exaggerations and bias. Overall a good read though.

2. Two responses to the NCI study above: http://www.cigardiary.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=30

and

http://www.cigarcyclopedia.com/webapp/images/stories/cigarprimer/primer2health%2090207.pdf

3. http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/health/ - Great resource for most of the major scientific studies done on cigars and health effects the last 40 years or so.

4. http://stogiefresh.com/journal/Cigar_Journal/Cigar_Science/Cigar_Science.html - The entire website is operated by a doctor I believe and has a lot of good information not only on some interesting science behind cigars, but reviews, and cigar history articles as well. Here is an article about cigars vs cigarettes particularly health risks : http://stogiefresh.com/journal/Cigar_Journal/Cigar_Science/Entries/2007/10/24_The_Critical_Difference%3A_Premium_Cigars_vs_Cigarettes.html