Cigar smoking introduction

  Introduction, how are cigars different from cigarettes? Who smokes cigars?

Introduction

Many people view cigar smoking as more "civilized" and "glamorous," as well as less dangerous than cigarette smoking. Yet a single large cigar can contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes. The secondhand smoke it gives off and that others breathe in can fill a room for hours.

The purpose of this document is to describe what cigars are, the recent trends in their use, and the possible health effects they pose to the people who smoke them and to those around them.

How Are Cigars Different From Cigarettes?

A cigar is defined, for tax purposes, as "any roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco," while a cigarette is "any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance not containing tobacco." Unlike most manufactured cigarettes, cigars do not usually include a filter.

Most cigars are made up of a single air-cured or dried burley tobacco. Cigar tobacco leaves are first aged for about a year and then fermented in a multi-step process that can take from 3 to 5 months. Fermentation causes chemical and bacterial reactions that change the tobacco and give cigars a different taste and smell from cigarettes.

Cigars come in different sizes, some as small as a cigarette (called a cigarillo), others much larger. Large cigars typically contain between 5 and 17 grams of tobacco. It is not unusual for some premium brands to have as much tobacco in 1 cigar as in a whole pack of cigarettes. Large cigars can take between 1 to 2 hours to smoke.

Who Smokes Cigars?

Cigar smoking continues to be a popular trend in the United States where a "cigar culture" is supported by cigar magazines, shops, and bars or clubs. Many cigar smokers consider themselves to be connoisseurs, similar to wine experts. Cigars are viewed as a sophisticated, affordable luxury that represents success, and cigar smokers are portrayed to have a high degree of taste and refinement. This image is fueled in part by the efforts of the tobacco industry to glamorize cigars and the willingness of movie stars and athletes to be paid and photographed smoking cigars. The industry seems to have tapped into an impulse among some to be freed from old restrictions and stereotypes; this is especially true for women, who make up one of the fastest growing groups of consumers. Teenagers and young adults may be particularly vulnerable because of the mistaken idea that cigars are a safe alternative to cigarettes.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the consumption of cigars has been on the increase since the early 1990s. Most of this increase was between 1993 and 1999, when use of both large cigars and cigarillos (little cigars) climbed by almost 70%. An estimated 5.1 billion cigars were consumed in the United States in 2005 -- a 3% increase from the previous year. The consumption of little cigars went from 2.9 billion in 2004 to 4 billion in 2005.

Sales of premium cigars, most of which are hand-made and imported, have increased over much of the last decade. The sharp rise in the popularity of gourmet coffee and microbrewery beers has contributed to the large increase in cigar smoking, particularly among young and middle-aged white men (ages 18 to 44) with higher than average incomes and education.

Cigar smoking occurs mainly among males between the ages of 35 and 64 who have higher educational backgrounds and incomes, but recent studies suggest new trends. Most new cigar users today are teenagers and young adult males (ages 18 to 24) who smoke occasionally (less than daily). In 2004, about 13% of Americans aged 18 to 25 had smoked a cigar within the last month, compared to about 5% of those 26 or older.

The general rise in cigar smoking in recent years has not been limited to the adult population, however. According to a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the level of cigar use among adolescents and teenagers in recent years has been higher than that of spit (smokeless) tobacco use. Cigar use among high school students has risen yearly since 2002.

In 2004, about 5% of US middle school students (grades 6 to 8) had smoked at least one cigar in the past 30 days. Boys (about 7%) were more likely than girls (about 4%) to be cigar smokers. In 2004, about 13% of US high school students (grades 9 to 12) had smoked at least one cigar within the past 30 days. Male high school students (about 18%) were more likely than female students (about 8%) to smoke cigars.

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