I was talking about this with my friend on the phone today. He says they aren’t. I say that nicotine in any form is addictive(thanks nicorette commercials!). A scan of an encyclopaedia turned up nothing. Anyone have any info that could help? Thanks!
BC might have an interesting take on that!
Cigars are a nicotine delivery device. They are not as efficiently designed as modern cigarettes for that purpose and combined with the different way of smoking a cigar, and the general rule that cigar smokers smoke less often (lest they become completely isolated from the rest of us) they probably deliver a good bit less nicotine to the body than chain smoking Marlboro lights would.
Nicotine, the active drug in all tobacco products, is very addictive. Moreso, according to some reports, than marijuana and cocaine (but I get the idea that everything depends on the circumstances) and only slightly less so than caffeine.
This is all based on recollection (see sig line), so if you know differently, please correct me (as if you people need encouragement) but be gentle; I’m celebrating my hundreth post here.
Are cigars addictive?
Simply: Yes.
My dad is VERY addictive to his cigars…fortunately he is trying to quit. At least he is using gum now and not smoking as much…that’s got to count for something.
It’s very rare to develop an actual nicotine addiction from cigars if you’re a ‘typical’ smoker. The typical American Cigar smoker does not inhale, and smokes on average less than 6 per week. At this rate, you almost certainly won’t become physically addicted. However, you may develop a psychological addiction, which may cause you to smoke them more often, which in turn may trigger a physical addiction.
If you inhale, all bets are off. Don’t inhale. You don’t need to inhale cigar smoke - you’ll get some nicotine through the mucous linings in the mouth.
I have successfully helped several people quit smoking cigarettes by switching them to cigar smoking. If you learn to appreciate cigars, cigarettes will taste dry and flavorless. Cigars work better than ‘The Patch’ or other nicotine delivery systems, because they also satisfy the physical habits of holding the object, having something in your mouth, etc.
Even if you continue to smoke cigars, the health risk is minimal if you stay under 6 per week and don’t inhale. The cancer risk from smoking cigars at this level is only slightly higher than non-smokers have (one peer-reviewed study evaluated risk on a normalized scale with non-smokers at 0, and pack-a-day cigarette smokers at 100. The cigar smokers came in around 2-5.