Does The Cigar Do More Harm Than The Cigarette?

Cigars and cigarettes, both are based on tobacco leaves which contain nicotine, which is known to cause respiratory cancers. Although both cigars and cigarettes are carcinogenic in nature, a comparison may arise between the two to determine which affects the human body in the worse manner.

A cigar has a longer and broader body than a cigarette, thus the amount of carcinogens in it is naturally more than in cigarettes, which are comparatively smaller. Even the fact that cigar smoke is even more poisonous than cigarette smoke does not encourage one to become a cigar smoker either. This however does not mean that cigar is more harmful for the human health than the cigarette, especially if you are talking about the real world.

It is a fact that on paper it seems like cigar smokers have a higher chance of developing respiratory cancer than cigarette smokers, but the reality is that the chances of having cancer actually increases with the frequency with which you smoke according to the National Cancer Institute. Although a single cigar is more harmful than a single cigarette, it is uncommon to find someone who smokes a single cigarette per day. On the contrary, the cigar smokers smoke cigars on a much lesser frequency than cigarette smokers. A single cigar after the dinner may not harm you enough to develop cancer, but multiple cigarettes through out the day will definitely increase your chances of developing the deadly disease.

Some cigar devotees have a theory that cigar is less dangerous than cigarettes due to the fact that one does not need to inhale all the toxins unlike a cigarette. This theory is not accepted by the National Cancer Institute as they have pointed out that the smoke can cause cancer even if it is not inhaled. They have stated that the nicotine and other harmful toxins mix with the saliva in the smoker’s mouth and is swallowed. The carcinogens therefore reach the whole of the oral cavity, throat and later the esophagus, exposing all the parts to possibility of cancer. Due to this statement, it can now be said that both cigars and cigarettes are capable of causing cancerous cells to grow in the human body, whether inhaled or not.

It is concluded that the amount of damage that five cigars can do to a person smoking them is equivalent to the damage that a whole pack of cigarettes can inflict. The National Cancer Institute considers cigarette smokers to be at a higher risk of larynx cancer because of their deep inhalation of the smoke and also because of the higher frequency with which they smoke. After checking all the facts, it can be said that the best way to control the harmful effects of tobacco is to control the numbers each day and it is true in case of both cigars and cigarettes.