Mortality risks of cigar smoking similar to that of cigarette smoking

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/bc-mro042115.php

Public Release: 23-Apr-2015
BioMed Central

Cigar smoking is associated with many of the same fatal conditions as cigarette smoking, according to research published in open access journal BMC Public Health. This underscores the fact that cigar smoking is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking.

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The authors also report that those who exclusively smoked cigars and had never smoked other tobacco products also had an increased risk of all-cause mortality. The risk of death from oral, esophageal and lung cancers was found to increase with inhalation of cigar smoke. Even in those who reported not inhaling cigar smoke, there was an increased risk of death caused by oral, laryngeal and esophageal cancer.

Those who smoked cigars and had previously smoked cigarettes had a much higher risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to cigar smokers who had not previously smoked cigarettes. The researchers believe this could be due in part to the inhalation patterns of these different types of cigar smokers.

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