Pipe and cigar smokers and snuff users reduce lung cancer risk because they usually do not inhale. However, these products carry their own risk. Pipe and cigar smokers develop cancers of the mouth, lip, larynx, a esophagus just as often as cigarette smokers. Snuff use is associated with cancer of the mouth and oral cavities. Those who switch from cigarettes to a pipe or cigars may still inhale tobacco smoke and run an even higher lung cancer risk than cigarette smokers.
Smoking is particularly harmful for pregnant women and their unborn children.
Babies of smokers weigh an average of 6 ounces less than the children of nonsmokers. Reduced birth weight is a result of nicotine's restriction of blood vessels and oxygen depletion. Children of smokers are still smaller at age 7 and may suffer impaired reading ability. Mothers who smoke suffer a greater risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. According to the American Cancer Society, many of smoking's adverse effects are reversed when smokers quit.