Richard Geller wrote:
>
> M.E. C wrote:
> >
> > Letterman was also a big time cigar smoker....several a day....they > > are worse for you than cigarettes from what I understand. Smoking
> > probably was a big contributing factor to his heart disease.
>
> Where are there studies showing this?
>
> Cigarettes are deliberately inhaled into the lungs, and contain hosts
> of chemical additives. Cigars are not inhaled deliberately and are
> usually plain tobacco. There are many long lived cigar and pipe
> smokers and some life insurance companies do not penalize them with
> higher rates, although cigarette smokers pay much higher life
> insurance rates.
>
> --Richard

I can't point you to any studies, but my understanding is that, because
cigar smoke is more alkaline than cigarette smoke it is more readily
absorbed directly through the mucus membranes of the mouth. Cigarette
smoke, being more acidic, has to be inhaled to get the same nicotine
dose as you get from smoking a cigar. Chewing tobacco is similarly
alkaline. That's no longer true about life insurance companies. Nicotine
use of any kind disqualifies you for any preferred rates, except for a
few companies that haven't updated their rules. Cigars cause less lung
cancer than cigarettes, but cause a lot of mouth cancers, more than
cigarettes, as well as causing all the usual nicotine problems.

Hilary McClure
Danville, VT