Cigars can be as deadly as cigarettes: FDA

April 26, 2015  17:01

Smoking an expensive Cuban cigar won't protect you from the risks of smoking, according to a study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

Researchers analyzed 24 studies that included 25,500 smokers and found cigar smokers share the same risk of dying from smoking-related disease as those who smoke cigarettes.

The FDA found that cigar smokers have higher levels of NNAL, a carcinogen found only in tobacco, than nonsmokers. Their report, which was published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, found that NNAL levels were as high in those who smoke a daily cigar as in people who regularly smoke cigarettes. 

Smoking related diseases include heart disease, stroke, and several types of cancer, including throat and neck cancers.

The findings suggest that cigar smokers may be inhaling more smoke than they believe. While many cigar smokers think they are protecting themselves by only puffing and not inhaling, researchers believe experienced smokers breathe the toxic chemical deep into their lungs even when they don't believe they are inhaling.

In addition to NNAL, the study found that cigar smokers also had higher levels of lead, cadmium, and cotinine (a metabolite of nicotine) when compared to nonsmokers. All are toxic or potentially cause cancer and have been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. 

In addition, cigar smoke has higher levels of toxins such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide than cigarettes, according to the study.

"We have observed that some risks associated with cigar smoking can be as high or higher than those associated with cigarette smoking, especially at the highest doses and levels of inhalation for cigar smoking," the researchers wrote.

"Cigar smoking exposes users to similar types of harmful and cancer-causing agents as cigarette smoking," emphasized the study's lead author, Dr. Jiping Chen.

"Once differences are accounted for in frequency of use, the levels of NNAL, a strong carcinogen, are comparable in cigar and cigarette smokers." 

"There is no safe level of cigar smoking," Chen said. 

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