Inhaling Cigars

The ill effects of smoking cigarettes is perhaps known to all. And perhaps, many people are looking at other safe alternatives. May be this is the reason there is an opinion that products like hookahs and cigars cause lesser damage than what a cigarette does. Hookahs, because people suppose that the smoke is filtered by the water and cigar because, smokers usually do not inhale the smoke. But to tell you the truth, no tobacco product is safe and tobacco smoking does not, in any way, have any kind of safe level of exposure. Go through the below description and be abreast of the ill effects of inhaling cigars.

Effects of Smoking Cigars

What differentiates cigars from cigarettes is the quality of the tobacco used in both these brands. In the latter product, the brand of tobacco is never fermented, while in the former it is. So this very process of fermentation is related to a common and severe health risk of smoking cigars. During fermentation, the production of cancer-causing nitrosamines in high concentrations. These harmful compounds are released when a cigar is being smoked. As the quantity of these carcinogens is higher in cigars than in cigarettes, this proves the point that inhaling cigars is possibly more toxic than cigarette smoking. Also, the tar that is produced in smoking cigarettes is less compared to the one during inhaling cigars. You may have noticed that the wrappers used in manufacturing cigars happen to be less porous than the ones used in making cigarettes. As a result of this the burning of tobacco in cigars remains less complete than the same in cigarettes. And this in turn makes the concentrations of toxins higher in cigars.

Also, more the smoke, higher the exposure to toxic compounds. Cigars are larger in size, having more tobacco and that is why they last longer than any ordinary cigarette. So this counts for the fact that inhaling cigars is subjected to greater amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, ammonia, cadmium, and other toxic substances.

Inhaling cigar smoke is not a common scenario as compared to those who smoke cigarettes. As the smoke is not inhaled, the dangers of inhaling cigars (such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and lung disease), although higher than non-smokers, are not as high as smoking cigarettes. However it is to be kept in mind that whether you inhale or you don't, the lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and larynx are exposed to the smoke and cancer causing elements. Even if you don't inhale cigars, your saliva carries the smoke constituents, which ultimately reaches the esophagus.

Body parts including lip, tongue, mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), esophagus, lungs and even the pancreas may suffer from cancer due to inhaling cigars. Coming to another important point, whether or not getting involved in inhaling cigars, high levels of nicotine tend to get absorbed by the body. According to studies, a single cigar can make up for the complete nicotine content for a pack of cigarettes. So when you inhale cigar smoke, you also inhale the nicotine content and even if you don't inhale, your body gets the nicotine dose by absorbing it through the lining of the mouth.

So, after having read through this description, it may be inferred that inhaling cigars, as well as not inhaling them, can in both ways hit the body with severe repercussions. And these repercussions appear in the form of painful medical conditions which make the body debilitate day by day and worsen the quality of life. It is however, also true that quitting cigar smoking is not as easy as it is seems, especially when one has to suffer from the withdrawal symptoms. But then, there are alternatives such as nicotine replacement products which help in providing measured levels of nicotine to the body. In this way, the user would feel less cravings for the smoke and also may be able to quit the habit altogether.