Over 13 billion cigars were smoked in the United States in 2010, twice the number recorded in 2000 which was 6.2 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such a high level of consumption may be due to the idea that cigars are less addictive and dangerous to the health than cigarettes. Unfortunately, according to a study, this is not true.
Published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention journal, the study was carried out by the Food and Drug Administration and involved tests conducted on over 25,500 Americans. Subjects were tested for five chemical signals signifying exposure to tobacco and, according to findings, cigar smoking exposed users to the same types of cancer-causing agents and other harmful ingredients as cigarette smoking.
Additionally, cigar smokers had higher levels of cotinine, NNAL, lead, and cadmium compared to those who didn't use tobacco. Compared to those who smoked cigarettes everyday, daily cigar smokers had similar levels of NNAL in their systems.
"Once differences are accounted for in frequency of use, the levels of NNAL, a strong carcinogen, are comparable in cigar and cigarette smokers," said Dr. Jiping Chen, lead author for the study and an epidemiologist for the FDA's Office of Science's Center for Tobacco Products.
This may be due to secondhand smoke inhalation. Smokers are supposed to simply puff not inhale the smoke from cigars but it has been shown that they too breathe harmful particles in, even when they aren't actively inhaling cigar smoke.
"There is no safe level of cigar smoking. Even cigar smokers who don't smoke every day are exposed to substantially higher levels of toxic compounds," reiterated Chen.
While not involved in the study, Patrician Folan, North Shore-LIJ Health System's Center for Tobacco Control director, noted that the work Chen and colleagues made is particularly significant because young people are more likely to be smoking cigars than cigarettes.
Aside from being cheaper and the perceived notion that they are less harmful than cigarettes, cigars may be attractive to young adults and even adolescents because they come in a variety of flavors, like chocolate and strawberry, she added.
"Cigar consumption is increasing in the United States, but little information is available about exposure to toxic constituents from cigar smoking. Our results are consistent with epidemiologic evidence demonstrating cigar smoking as a cause of disease and premature death," concluded the researchers.
Aside from Chen, Hannah Day, Brian Rostron, and Anna Kettermann also worked on the study.
