The problem is, there have been a lot of long term studies on the effects of cigarette smoking and the risks are well documented. There have been very few long term studies on the effects of cigar smoking, so what researches often do is just simply say that cigars are the same as cigarettes. A reasonable assumption considering they're made of the same plant, despite being wildly unscientific. When a solid meta analysis was done, like the FDA study I linked, it very clearly showed that moderate cigar smoking imposed only a very slightly increased risk of cancer compared to non smokers and a significantly lower risk of cancer compared to cigarette smokers. Government propaganda sites like cancer.gov would never acknowledge that as their bias is geared toward fear mongering people away from tobacco.
Your cancer.gov fact sheet claims "Regular cigar smokers and cigarette smokers have similar levels of risk for oral cavity and esophageal cancers. The more you smoke, the greater the risk of disease.", but fails to provide a link to a study that even focused on cigars and isolated cigars from other tobacco. What it links to is just another cancer.gov fact sheet that makes unsubstantiated claims and in fact only says:
We believe an accurate statement is that the
risks of tobacco smoke exposure are similar for all sources of tobacco
smoke, and the magnitude of the risks experienced by cigar smokers
is proportionate to the nature and intensity of their exposure.
"We believe". How very scientific indeed. Compared to the FDA analysis I linked with empirical quantitative data. If they tried to publish that in a peer reviewed journal, they'd get laughed at.
Again, I'm not saying cigars are safe. Bathing your mouth in cigar smoke is obviously risky. But in moderation, the risks of developing cancer are almost nil and demonstrably NOT even close the risks of cigarettes.
Factor in as well, that despite the fact that cigar smoke is unfiltered and may contain more nitrosamines, someone who smokes 1 cigar a day (most cigar smokers don't even smoke daily, let alone 2 a day) is bathing their mouth in smoke for a 45 minute smoke session. Your average cigarette smoker is smoking a pack or more a day, exposing the same tissues to cigarette smoke for many many more minutes per day. If a cigarette takes 10 minutes to smoke, an you smoke a pack a day, that's 200 minutes of smoke exposure to your mouth, throat and lungs. Compared to 45mins to an hour for a cigar smoker. Factor in too, that handmade cigars contain 0 chemical additives. Beyond the nicotine specific nitrosamines inherent in the tobacco itself, the crap cigarettes is dipped in contains doezens more carcinogenic compounds.
Llayden said:
Yes, they are.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cigars-fact-sheet
"Regular cigar smokers and cigarette smokers have similar levels of risk for oral cavity and esophageal cancers. The more you smoke, the greater the risk of disease."
"All cigar and cigarette smokers, whether or not they inhale, directly expose their lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and larynx to smoke and its toxic and cancer-causing chemicals. In addition, when saliva containing the chemicals in tobacco smoke is swallowed, the esophagus is exposed to carcinogens. These exposures probably account for the similar oral and esophageal cancer risks seen among cigar smokers and cigarette smokers."
"During the fermentation process for cigar tobacco, high concentrations of cancer-causing nitrosamines are produced. These compounds are released when a cigar is smoked. Nitrosamines are found at higher levels in cigar smoke than in cigarette smoke."
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/documents/cancersurvivor/files/VICC_cigarQ&A.pdf
"Both cigar and cigarette smokers have similar levels of risk for oral, throat, and esophageal cancers. The health risks associated with occasional cigar smoking (less than daily) are not known. About three-quarters of cigar smokers are occasional smokers."
"Health risks associated with both cigars and cigarettes are strongly linked to the degree of smoke exposure."