Also, because the cigar wrapper is less porous than cigarette paper, the tobacco doesn't burn as completely. In a recent study, researchers found that the concentrations of carbon monoxide at two cigar social events in San Francisco were higher than the levels found on a busy California freeway. Had these indoor exposures lasted eight hours, they would have exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for outdoor air established by the Environmental Protection Agency. While no studies have been done to prove the health effects on nonsmokers at cigar social events, there is clearly an increased risk of lung cancer from long-term exposure to secondhand smoke. Nicotine is the substance in tobacco that causes addiction.
Most cigars have as much nicotine as several cigarettes.
When cigar smokers inhale, nicotine is absorbed as rapidly as it is with cigarettes. For those who do not inhale, it is absorbed, more slowly through the lining of the mouth. People who use smokeless tobacco absorb nicotine the same way. Both inhaled and non-inhaled nicotine are highly addictive. Cigars fall under fewer federal regulations than do cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.