Cigars: Status Symbol or Health Hazard?

As any cigar lover will tell you, cigars and cigarettes are in two different leagues. Cigarettes come with a warning label; cigars come with a fancy box. A cigarette might last five minutes; a good cigar can last an hour or more.

While cigarette smoking has steadily declined over the years; cigar smoking has become more popular, increasing by more than 33 percent between 1996 and 2006. And, of course, cigars have an aura of pomp and ceremony. Few people would celebrate a new baby with a pack of Winstons.

Cigars are dangerous, and according to the National Institute of Health, they emit up to 90 times a cigarette’s level of nitrosamines, which are potent cancer causing compounds.

Thanks to clever marketing and magazines such as Cigar Aficionado, cigars have come to symbolize the good life.  Advertising tries to hide cigars’ biggest shortcoming: If lit up often enough, they can be deadly. Puffing a cigar to celebrate a new baby may be harmless, but just one cigar a day on a regular basis poses a serious threat to health, both to the smoker and anyone exposed to the secondhand smoke. If you regularly smoke cigars — or live with someone who does — you should take a close look at this highly toxic status symbol.

Many people are under the misconception that smoking a cigar is a safe alternative to cigarette smoking.

It is not.

Let’s take a look at some of the facts about the dangers of cigar smoking:

Cigars are Addictive
Nicotine is the addictive ingredient in any tobacco product. Cigars have a high level of nicotine in them; usually many times that of cigarettes. In fact, some premium cigars have as much nicotine in them as an entire pack of cigarettes, or more.

If cigar smoke is inhaled, nicotine will enter the bloodstream through the lungs. If not, the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth. Cigar smoke dissolves more easily in saliva than cigarette smoke because its composition is alkaline. This allows for quick absorption of nicotine, producing dependence without inhalation.

Cigar Smoking and Heart Disease
Cigar smoking is hard on the heart. A 25 year long study published in the Journal of American Medical Association reported that cigar smokers may suffer as much as 27 percent more risk than that of nonsmokers for coronary heart disease. The study looked at approximately 18,000 men, between the ages of 30 and 85. Over 1500 of them were cigar smokers, and it was discovered that these people suffered more occurrences of heart disease than their nonsmoking counterparts.

Cigar Smoking and Cancer
Smoking cigars has been reported to cause various types of cancer, including: mouth, throat, esophageal, lung, pancreatic, and bladder.

Both cigarette and cigar smokers share a similar risk for cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus. People who smoke one or two cigars daily double their risk of oral and esophageal cancer over nonsmokers. Those who smoke three to four cigars a day increase their risk of oral cancers by 8 times and esophageal cancers by 4 times that of nonsmokers. Risk factors for people who are occasional cigar smokers (less than daily) are not known.

Cigar Smoking and COPD
Cigar smokers are at an increased risk over nonsmokers for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Most cigar smokers don’t inhale, so the risk of COPD is less than that of cigarette smokers. A U.S. study reports that cigar smokers have up to 45 percent greater risk of COPD than that of nonsmokers.

Cigar Smoking and Early Tooth Loss
According to a study published in the January 1999 issue of the American Dental Association, evidence shows that cigar and pipe smoking may also lead to early tooth loss. Researchers from Boston University followed 690 men over the course of 23 years and concluded that those who smoked cigars were 30 percent more likely to lose their teeth than nonsmokers. Pipe smokers were 60 percent more likely suffer early tooth loss than nonsmokers. Cigar and pipe smokers are also at an increased risk for alveolar bone loss.

Cigar smoking is dangerous. All forms of tobacco have risks associated with them, and cigars are no different. Don’t be fooled. There is no such thing as a risk-free tobacco product.

Dr. Scala has been selected a Castle Connolly 2015 “Top Doctor” by a physician-led team of researchers in the field of Cardiovascular Disease.

South Cape Business Center
3208 Chiquita Blvd. S, Suite 110
Cape Coral, FL 33914
(239) 574-8463
www.flccg.com

Our Cardiologist
Dr. Louis J. Scala has been voted TOP DOCTOR four consecutive years by Castle Connolly. He received his medical degree at the State University of New York Health Science Center. He completed his Residency at Brown University, and Cardiology Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at UCLA. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and specializes in Cardiovascular Disease.