Those who inhale have an increased risk of death from lung cancer eleven times greater than that of nonsmokers. The risks for those who inhale are also increased in other types of cancer. Compared to nonsmokers, cigar smokers who inhale deeply are six times more likely to die from oral cancer, twice as likely to die from esophageal cancer, and 39 times more likely to die from cancer of the larynx. They also face more than twice the risk of death from pancreatic cancer and more than three times the risk of death from bladder cancer compared to nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking is known to increase the risk of respiratory diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Cigarette smokers have twice the risk of dying of heart attacks as do non-smokers.
And smoking is a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles. At this time there are no studies that conclusively show a link between cigar smoking and either peripheral vascular disease or stroke. Secondhand smoke includes both the smoke from the end of the cigar and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. There are some differences between cigar and cigarette smoke, though. These differences are due to the long aging and fermentation process used for cigar tobacco and to the fact that the cigar wrapper is not as porous as cigarette paper.