Cigar vs Cigarette
The most apparent difference between cigar and cigarette is the size of the cigar or cigarette. Whether you smoke a cigar or a cigarette does not make a difference to your health as both are equally bad. Cigar and cigarettes are two of the most common sources of nicotine, and people choose one or the other to get their daily dose or intake of this drug that provides them with the kick that they become addicted. Despite the fact that both cigars and cigarettes are meant to consume tobacco, and ultimately nicotine, there are some differences between a cigar and a cigarette that need to be highlighted.
The majority of people who smoke know the harmful effects of tobacco and look for safer alternatives. They are under an impression that cigars are safer than cigarettes. However, unfortunately, any kind of smoke is carcinogenic as tobacco is full of cancer causing chemicals. What is tragic is that cigars and cigarettes harm innocent passive smokers more than smokers themselves.
What is a Cigar?
Cigar is tobacco rolled in a tobacco leaf or another material containing tobacco. At first glance, there are perceptible differences in size and outer wrappings of a cigar. In fact, a cigar uses a different type of tobacco from a cigarette. One finds many variations in thickness and length of cigars.
The nicotine content in a cigar is 100 – 200mg. This implies that the amount of nicotine that is found in a pack of cigarettes is in just one cigar. It takes a person more than an hour to smoke a cigar. When it comes to the cigar smoke, the smoke of a cigar is irritating, and not many inhale it. They usually keep it in the mouth and let it go out. Generally, the smokers keep the smoke of cigar in their mouth, and the ingredients of this smoke are absorbed by their mucous lining. This probably explains the lower incidence of lung diseases and cancers in cigar smokers than in cigarette smokers. However, this difference in inhalation means cigar smokers get different types of cancers than cigarette smokers. You can still get mouth cancer by smoking cigars.
A cigar goes on for an hour, which is like smoking 10 cigarettes or a pack. Thus, smoking 1-2 cigars a day makes one susceptible to the same risk levels of various cancers as a smoker who inhales a pack of cigarettes.
What is a Cigarette?
Cigarette is tobacco rolled in paper. Cigarettes usually have the same thickness and only minor variations can be seen in different brands of cigarettes. A cigarette contains around 10mg of nicotine. Most cigarettes get burnt in less than 10 minutes. When it comes to cigarette smoke, invariably all smokers of cigarettes inhale the smoke. In other words, cigarette smoke is inhaled almost instantaneously by smokers when smoking a cigarette.
What is the difference between Cigar and Cigarette?
• Definition of Cigar and Cigarette:
• Cigar is tobacco rolled in a tobacco leaf or another material containing tobacco.
• Cigarette is tobacco rolled in paper.
• Appearance:
• Cigar is a thick cylindrical form that is usually brown in color.
• Cigarette is a thin cylindrical form that is usually white in color.
• Nicotine Content:
• The nicotine content in a cigar is 100 – 200mg.
• A cigarette contains around 10mg of nicotine.
• Burn Time:
• It takes about an hour to smoke a cigar.
• Most cigarettes can be smoked within 10 minutes.
• Inhalation of Smoke:
• People do not inhale cigar smoke.
• People do inhale cigarette smoke.
• Cancer Risk:
• Cigar smokers develop cancers of mouth, head and neck.
• Cigarette smokers get cancers of lung and throat.
• Price:
• Cigars are more expensive than cigarettes.
Contrary to the popular misconception that cigars are safer than cigarettes, cigars have been found to contain higher levels of carcinogens. Cigars have more tar than cigarettes, and their wrapping, which is less porous than cigarettes means smoker has to take in a lot of un-burnt or not completely burnt tobacco. Thus, there are more toxins and carcinogens in the smoke of a cigar than a cigarette, and despite not inhaling this smoke, the mucous lining of the smoker absorbs all chemicals.
Images Courtesy:
- Cigar by 0r14nd0 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Cigarette via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
