Cigars, Little Cigars or CigarillosModule 7

Tobacco 101: Module 7 3

Cigars, Little Cigars or Cigarillos

• Little cigars contain many of the same harmful chemicals as in cigarettes.

• Cigarillos are NOT safer just because they “look” more natural.

Is smoking a cigar less harmful than smoking a cigarette?

No, smoking cigarillos or little cigars is just as harmful as smoking cigarettes.

Cigarette

Little cigar

Cigarillo (tipped)

Cigarillo

Tobacco 101: Module 7 4

Cigars, Little Cigars or Cigarillos

Taking the liner paper out of the tube of cigarillos (also called hyping or freaking) does NOT reduce harm.

Does taking out the liner paper make smoking a cigar healthier?

No, it is the tobacco inside that really causes the harm.

Tobacco 101: Module 7 5

Cigars, Little Cigars or Cigarillos

Slide 3:

– Smokefree.gov. “Answers About Black and Milds, Swisher Sweets, and Other Little Cigars and Cigarillos,” accessed January 10, 2012, http://www.smokefree.gov/tob-cigarillo.aspx

– American Cancer Society. 2011. “What Are the Health Risks of Smoking Pipes or Cigars?” http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/QuestionsaboutSmokingTobaccoandHealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-pipes-cigars

– American Legacy Foundation. 2009. “Cigars, Cigarillos, & Little Cigars Fact Sheet.” http://www.legacyforhealth.org/PDF/Cigars-Cigarillos-and-Little-Cigars_FactSheet.pdf

Slide 4:

– Smokefree.gov. “Answers About Black and Milds, Swisher Sweets, and Other Little Cigars and Cigarillos,” accessed January 10, 2012, http://www.smokefree.gov/tob-cigarillo.aspx

– American Legacy Foundation. 2009. “Cigars, Cigarillos, & Little Cigars Fact Sheet.” http://www.legacyforhealth.org/PDF/Cigars-Cigarillos-and-Little-Cigars_FactSheet.pdf

References

Tobacco 101: Module 7 6

Cigars, Little Cigars or Cigarillos

Slides 1 and 2: Photographs courtesy of iStockphoto.

Slide 3: Photographs courtesy of RTI International.

Slide 4: Photograph courtesy of iStockphoto.

Photographs are used for illustrative purposes only, and any persons depicted are models.

Photograph Credits

Prepared by Sterling Fulton-Smith, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; Sandhya Joshi, RTI International; Caley Burrus, Duke

University; Ronny Bell, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity; and Barri Burrus, RTI International.

March 2012