Cigars versus cigarettes

Consumption of cigars in the USA doubled from 6.2bn cigars in 2000 to more than 13.7bn in 2011. This contrasts with a 33 per cent reduction in cigarette consumption over the same period. There is particular concern about cigar use in youth and young adults. Among young adults aged 18-24, 16 per cent reported smoking cigars at least one day in the past 30 days during 2009-2010.  A recent report suggests during 2012, 12.6 per cent of high school students smoked cigars, cigarillos or little cigars, at least one day in the past 30 days.

Researchers from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carried out a systematic review of studies about cigar smoking and all smoking related mortality to gain more comprehensive information about the long term public health implications of cigar use. The team wanted to examine the health risks to current cigar smokers compared to those who never smoked cigarettes or never used any tobacco, so they excluded any study that involved current cigarette smokers. Separate results were reported for current cigar smokers with no prior history of cigarette smoking versus those who had previously smoked cigarettes. 22 studies were analyzed that were primarily conducted in the USA, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.