Nicotine affects every part of the nervous system. This includes the pleasure centre of the brain.
Cigars
are different from cigarettes predominantly because
they are wrapped in leaf tobacco or some other substance
containing tobacco, rather than in paper. In addition,
they do not normally have a filter, although Imperial
Tobacco has developed a cigar with a filter.
Cigars are as toxic as cigarettes,
and, by some measures, more toxic. For example,
‘per gram of tobacco smoked’ tar,
carbon monoxide and ammonia are produced in greater
quantities by cigars than by cigarettes.
Similarly, cigar and pipe smoking is as dangerous
to health as cigarette smoking. Any difference
between them is due to the smoking patterns of
the two groups. If pipe or cigar smokers have
never smoked cigarettes they tend not to inhale.
This means they are not so exposed to tar and
other toxins in the smoke. However, if pipe and
cigar smokers are ex-cigarette smokers, or smoke
both, then they may inhale despite the fact that
this type of smoke is particularly irritating.
Cigar smoke dissolves more easily in saliva, meaning
the desired dose of nicotine is achieved without
the need to inhale the smoke into the lungs. This
still causes dependency upon the drug.
Non-smokers still run the risk of contracting
lung cancer from breathing in pipe or cigar smoke,
just as they do cigarettes.
