Is cigar tobacco REALLY that different from cigarette tobacco?

[McDuffie for Congress]

I don't smoke cigarettes. My nephew is trying to quit cigarettes and I told him to start smoking cigars. He'll save his lungs and smoke way less, but still get the nicotine. So he tried it. I gave him a CAO M-2. Taught him how to smoke it (told him not to chew the end after cutting it as I do :P )

THREE DRAWS LATER he was complaining. His face was VISIBLY reddened, and he was trembling. After the fourth draw, he let it go out and didn't relight it.

WTF? He is a 2 to 2 and a half pack a day smoker, but he can't handle a cigar?

[Headbanger]

No wonder, that cigar is super powerful I believe.

Tobacco used for most cigars is a higher quality and is grown in different countries to give it different tastes and strengths. These is a large difference between rolling and aging fine tobacco leaf vs lower end tobacco that is chopped up and rolled between paper and consumed soon as possible. Beyond that, I am clueless and cigarettes are bad for your health.

[GatorMike]

Its really a genetics thing. I don't find the MX2 that strong. However even a PAM principe will lay me on my ass. People respond differently. Either that or he was inhaling the shit out of that MX2.

[blankcig]

I believe chemicals are also added to Cigarettes (something tobacco companies have been sued over in the past). Your nephew may also have had a problem with the amount he was intaking all at once, not too mention he may have been inhaling accidentally.

[caudio51]

I lean towards nature. I would rather smoke natural tobacco as opposed to chemically enhanced cigs. Either way, not the best for you but I'm sure cigars are much better in moderation.

[joshrich]

Wait...do you guys inhale your cigars? Cause I don't. I smoked cigarettes for 10 years, 2 and half packs a day, and I think if I inhaled a cigar I'd be on my ass in a heartbeat.

[McDuffie for Congress]

No inhaling here.

[blankcig]

Me Neither. Every once in a while I might catch a bit of an inhale (typically if I'm doing something else and not paying full attn. to the cigar).

[GatorMike]

I take a very little bit in just to get the olfactories goin.

[Trumpetchris]

No inhaling for me. I've read somewhere that former cigarette smokers (I'm not one) naturally take in cigar smoke, even if they're not trying to, when they first switch to cigars. I know that when some smoke goes in my nose, my eyes start watering and I cough, so I'm pretty sure I'm not sucking any in when I puff.

[TexaSmoke]

Either that or he was inhaling the shit out of that MX2.

:yes:

Had to be inhaling to get that harsh of a reaction that quickly. As for the difference between tobacco. I would have to compare it to wine. There are good tobaccos and bad tobaccos, just like good grapes and bad one. The nicer stuff cost more and makes a better product. But they still use the cheaper stuff for "everyday use."

[TexaSmoke]

One more thought is that if he is trying to quit smoking cigarette, don't try to get him on cigars. Have him quit for about a year before taking up cigars. It would be worse if he were to start inhaling the cigars to replace cigarettes.

[GWN]

From what I understand, its the additives in cigs that are worst, eg whatever they put in to keep em burning if you put em down, unlike a cigar.

[CWS]

Cigarettes are engineered to deliver nicotine. They are inhanced to keep burning. Cigars deliver flavor with nicotine as a by product. Cigars are rolled with different wrappers, fillers, binders etc. Cigs are pretty much the same tobacco across te board with minor differences. CIgarette tobbaccos are chopped, dried and rolled to deliver the smoke quickly, efficently. Cigars draw slow, fast, medium etc. The go out if you dont puff.
Cigarettes are mass producted by an effiecnt marketing machine to get you to smoke more. CIgars are masterfully rolled and produced to give pleasure and an experience. 2 cents.

[Rich K]

I don't know much about the differences between the tobacco in cigars and cigarettes, but I'm right with y'all on the inhaling thing. I smoked cigarettes for a year or so, and when I started smoking cigars I naturally inhaled. Now that I've trained myself not to inhale, I couldn't inhale from a cigarette I tried smoking a couple months back.

The only cigar that handed me my ass for inhaling was an Opus xXx.

[smokinafuente]

You mean that there is tobacco in cigarettes??? :eyepoke:



:bouncetau :bouncetau :bouncetau

[tedski]

You mean that there is tobacco in cigarettes???

It's more like tobacco flavored chemicals ...

From what I've read, the average medium strength robusto has as much nicotine as 8-10 cigarettes, if you inhale. Still, I would think a seasoned cigarette smoker should be able to handle a cigar without much ado. But the amount of smoke volume delivered per puff is much greater with cigars and thus the nicotine hit per puff might be greater as well. So I think your nephew will just have to learn how to smoke a cigar without inhaling much ... or maybe smoke smaller / milder cigars for awhile.

[artofdesign]

Me Neither. Every once in a while I might catch a bit of an inhale (typically if I'm doing something else and not paying full attn. to the cigar).

same here...

[artofdesign]

...THREE DRAWS LATER he was complaining. His face was VISIBLY reddened, and he was trembling. After the fourth draw, he let it go out and didn't relight it.

WTF? He is a 2 to 2 and a half pack a day smoker, but he can't handle a cigar?

some reg smokers here may not have bad issuses with the mx2, but that is a serious cigar...my vote is that it was just to much for him as a newbie to cigars, ESPECIALLY if he inhaled it...

[Electric Sheep]

I smoked cigarette for 15 years (quit several years ago)...and in my experience, I found almost *NOTHING* similar between the experience of smoking a cigar compared to the experience of smoking a cigarette.

But of course, that difference in experiences has nothing to do with the tobacco itself, as both cigarettes and cigars are made out of the same plant genus, Nicotiana. No, the differences lie in the processing and intended purpose of said tobacco plants....not the tobacco itself.

In pratical application, cigarettes and cigars have terribly little in common.

[danatela]

I believe cigarette and cigar tobacco are different even as plant varieties. I think (I'm not sure by any means) that cigarettes and burley pipe tobacco share the same parent tobacco plant. Cigar tobacco, I believe, is usually made from one or more different tobacco plants selected over time specifically for use in cigar production. (I'm really weak with plant classification, maybe they're different cultivars or something, I'm not sure of the term -- but the difference would be like CT Broadleaf vs Burley for example.) Steve Saka wrote an article on Black Tobacco in Cigar Magazine about a year ago that should address this WAY better than I can. But the differences don't stop there. AFAIK, cigarette and light pipe tobacco are usually rapidly cured and don't undergo the same kind of lengthy fermentation and marrying processes that cigar tobacco does.

My guess is that your nephew accidently inhaled a bunch of cigar smoke. I don't try to inhale but I do breathe in quite a bit of "second hand" or sidestream smoke when I'm in an enclosed space so that ain't so good either.

[Electric Sheep]

Yes, yes, yes! I know exactly which article by Saka that you're referencing; it was quite good....but of course, it was just talking about different varieties of Black Tobacco; for the most part, ALL cigars are made from Black Tobacco (minor varieties not withstanding).

But that too is far more differentiation than I was talking about; my only point was that they're all from the same genus of plant....which is to say, there's not enough genetic difference between all of them (50 plus, I believe) to make a hill of beans when comparing cigarettes to cigars.

PROCESSING and PRODUCTION are the big physical differences. :yes:




p.s. - thanks for making this thread, McDuffie! It spurred me to write my first two blog posts for the new, upcoming BOTL.org blog! :grin:

[seriesV]

the mx2 is indeed a strong(er) cigar, but his reaction seems too fast to be solely caused by the niccotine or cigar itself for that matter. i've gotten woozey from a few cigars, but never while i was still smoking them, it always has come on after i put them down. maybe something else was already going on inside him and the cigar smoke just put him over the edge?

as for the differences between the tobacco, its like apples and strawberries: sure they're both fruit, but they are grown, picked, and consumed differently. to my knowledge, the tobacco used for cigs would never be considered fit for cigar production, even short filler ones.

[tobby4]

Yea it is much different... whether you want to look at the tobacco itself or just the addictive chemicals put into cigarettes... I smoke both.. not happily but whatever...

Cigars actually have flavor. but they grind the tobacco for cigarettes and then soak it in water where they add some chemicals and then they drain it and shred the tobacco again, now to about the size of what it is in a cig. They later spray the water/chem/tobacco shit back ontop of the ground tobacco and add some artifical flavors and then they get rolled..


It is something along those lines, I watched the history of tobacco on the discovery channel last week...

But I still would not inhale an MX2, I inhale a few draws here and there but no way the whole stick.. but there is a chance that he is like todd and thinks about smoking a strong cigar and gets sick...

[Saully]

Yea it is much different... whether you want to look at the tobacco itself or just the addictive chemicals put into cigarettes... I smoke both.. not happily but whatever... ]


It's up to you to change that if you want to, Dude. (Although as to other issues I'm not one to talk.)

[kirscovitch]

just my .02 cents here, but i smoke cigarettes. (about a pack a day) but i cant inhale cigar smoke unless its a very mild cigar. but even with the more robust cigars like lets say a Power Ranger or a kick ass CC. i dont get the experience that some of you claim to have. i most recently had a La Flor Dominica Double Ligero and from what ive heard and read, its a very strong, kick ass smoke. and even though it was a strong smoke, i didnt get the head rush or trembles, or any of that stuff.........

or maybe im Superman!!!!!!!!!!! :smokingbo

[jwintosh]

Cigarettes are engineered to deliver nicotine. They are inhanced to keep burning. Cigars deliver flavor with nicotine as a by product. Cigars are rolled with different wrappers, fillers, binders etc. Cigs are pretty much the same tobacco across te board with minor differences. CIgarette tobbaccos are chopped, dried and rolled to deliver the smoke quickly, efficently. Cigars draw slow, fast, medium etc. The go out if you dont puff.
Cigarettes are mass producted by an effiecnt marketing machine to get you to smoke more. CIgars are masterfully rolled and produced to give pleasure and an experience. 2 cents.


I bet there’s a george carlin comedy routine in there somewhere…in his voices of baseball versus football - an all time classic!!

Cigars arrive in a stylish box!
Cigarettes roam in packs.

Cigars are sophisticated, classy, and stylish!
Cigarettes get rolled in sleeves and tucked behind ears.

Cigar smokers enjoy the company of other smokers!
Cigarette smokers don’t give a fuck who else is around.

Cigars come in all kinds of wonderful shapes, and colors, and sizes! Oh my!!
Cigarettes come in one shape, varying in size between a .223 and a .270.

Cigars are designed to burn slowly, so the smoker can enjoy the experience.
Cigarettes are meant to burn, and burn fast. It will not go out until it’s gone, leaving you wanting another, and another, and another…

Cigars won’t hurt you. Just make sure you don’t inhale. Oops!
Cigarettes will kill you. They plaster your lungs with guck, I mean, shit that won’t come off without a brillo pad!

[kirscovitch]

I bet there’s a george carlin comedy routine in there somewhere…in his voices of baseball versus football - an all time classic!!

Cigars arrive in a stylish box!
Cigarettes roam in packs.

Cigars are sophisticated, classy, and stylish!
Cigarettes get rolled in sleeves and tucked behind ears.

Cigar smokers enjoy the company of other smokers!
Cigarette smokers don’t give a fuck who else is around.

Cigars come in all kinds of wonderful shapes, and colors, and sizes! Oh my!!
Cigarettes come in one shape, varying in size between a .223 and a .270.

Cigars are designed to burn slowly, so the smoker can enjoy the experience.
Cigarettes are meant to burn, and burn fast. It will not go out until it’s gone, leaving you wanting another, and another, and another…

Cigars won’t hurt you. Just make sure you don’t inhale. Oops!
Cigarettes will kill you. They plaster your lungs with guck, I mean, shit that won’t come off without a brillo pad!


lol nice list.. i really like the line about cigarette smokers dont give a fuck whos around.

[jwintosh]

a few more,,, add in! i'm cracking myself up!!

It can take years and years for a cigar to fully mature!
A cigarette has a life expectancy of less than five minutes.

Once the cigars are boxed, opening the box allows for even more wonderful aging! Can you say, wonderful aging?
Once the cigarette pack is opened, the entire pack will be consumed within 24hours, regardless of how much they ‘say’ they smoke.

Cigars need a perfect climate and humidity to properly age!
Cigarettes are just fine in a glove compartment at 140 degrees.

There are just so many cigars to choose from!
Marlboro