Beautiful Cigar, ugly smoke

 
Micheal Jordon, the legendary figure, puffs on his cigar as he takes a huge swing with his driver. Here, cigar meets the legend and in what style! Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Whoopi Goldberg are some of the world renowned personalities that favor the stick. 
  
Cigar smoking is a growing trend, and with the backing of huge personalities, it is only gaining more popularity. As the number of people with higher than average incomes increase in Kathmandu, the tobacco stick is also slowly gripping our capital city. 

Cigar with its higher cost and sophisticated look is cooler and hence appeals to the consumers. Clenching one in between your teeth is considered as a sign of prosperity and style. With a mental image like that, the cigar is not going to go away that easily. 

But maybe this will help you uncover the ugliness wrapped inside that tobacco leaf wrapper.

Smoking as little as one cigar per day can increase the risk of several cancers, including cancer of the oral cavity (lip, tongue, mouth and throat), esophagus, larynx, and lung. Cigar smoking may be linked to the cancer of the pancreas as well. Daily cigar smoking, especially for people who inhale, also increases the risk of heart disease and a type of lung disease known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. 

The smoke of a cigar is more harmful than that of a cigarette, the reason being the long aging and fermentation process used for cigar tobacco. The cigar wrapper is also not quite as porous as the cigarette paper. Cigar tobacco has a high concentration of nitrogen compounds (nitrates and nitrites). Also, because the cigar paper isn't as porous as the cigarette paper, the tobacco doesn't burn as well. The result is a higher concentration of nitrogen oxides, ammonia, carbon monoxide and tar. 

Anyone want a cigar?