We should require the same sort of warning labels on cigars that we already require on packages of cigarettes and spit tobacco. The absence of such a warning on cigars could lead consumers to erroneously conclude that cigars do not carry health risks. The health department cannot enact federal policy, but it can recommend policy to other government agencies. Only Congress and the Federal Trade Commission have the power to issue warning labels, which might be good news to cigar manufacturers and retailers. But another national group, the American Lung Association, brings bad news to the cigar aficionados.
Cigars do carry serious health risks, according to the association.
Even though cigar smokers do not generally inhale, when cigars are puffed the smoke is held in the mouth and upper airways, which raises the risk of dying from cancer of the larynx, mouth and esophagus by four to 10 times compared to non-smokers. Cigars contain the highly addictive drug nicotine, a drug that speeds up the heart, narrows the blood vessels and reduces blood supply to the heart. Cigars are also a major source of second-hand smoke. Carbon monoxide emissions from cigars are 30 times as high as those for cigarettes. Most cigar aficionados, however, are probably like Stephen Wagner.