Are Cigars Bad for You?

Are cigars bad for you? Yes. That is the clear verdict of every major health body, from the World Health Organization to the US National Cancer Institute. Many people see cigars as a gentler, occasional pleasure, partly because the smoke is not usually inhaled. Yet cigar smoke contains the same toxic and cancer-causing chemicals as cigarette smoke. This guide explains the risks plainly, with sources, and shows where to find help in Malaysia.

Why are cigars bad for you?

Cigars are made entirely of tobacco. When tobacco burns, it produces thousands of chemicals. According to the American Cancer Society, at least 70 of them are known to cause cancer.

Cigar smoke may be even harsher than cigarette smoke in some ways. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains three reasons:

• Fermentation. Cigar tobacco is fermented, and this process produces high levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines.
• More tar. For every gram of tobacco smoked, cigars produce more cancer-causing tar than cigarettes.
• Less complete burning. Cigar wrappers are less porous than cigarette paper. As a result, the tobacco burns less completely, which raises toxin levels in the smoke.

The US Food and Drug Administration puts it bluntly. In its words, “cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes”, and cigar smoke “is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke, if not more.”

Cancer risks

Cigar smoking causes several cancers. The NCI lists cancers of the oral cavity, larynx, oesophagus and lung. It may also cause cancer of the pancreas.

Mouth, throat, larynx and oesophagus

These cancers hit cigar smokers hardest, because the smoke sits in the mouth and throat. The American Cancer Society says people who smoke cigars are 4 to 10 times more likely to die from cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx and oesophagus than people who do not smoke cigars.

In fact, the NCI notes that regular cigar smokers and cigarette smokers have similar levels of risk for oral cavity and oesophageal cancers. So the habit of keeping smoke in the mouth does not protect you. It concentrates the damage where the smoke lingers.

Lung cancer

Cigar smokers have lower rates of lung cancer than cigarette smokers. However, their rates are still higher than those of people who do not smoke. Risk climbs with inhaling and with the number of cigars smoked each day.

Heart and lung disease

Cancer is not the only danger. Daily cigar smokers have a higher risk of heart disease and other types of lung disease, according to the NCI.

Carbon monoxide plays a part. The FDA says a large cigar can deliver more than five times the carbon monoxide of a filtered cigarette. Carbon monoxide reduces how much oxygen your blood can carry. Meanwhile, nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure.

Nicotine and addiction

Cigars contain nicotine, and nicotine is addictive. A large cigar can contain as much tobacco as a whole pack of cigarettes. The NCI says a single cigar can potentially provide as much nicotine as a pack.

The FDA adds that large cigars can deliver as much as 10 times the nicotine of a filtered cigarette. Even if you never inhale, nicotine passes into your blood through the lining of your mouth. That is why some cigar smokers find their “occasional” habit slowly becomes a daily one.

Too much nicotine at once can also make you feel ill, with dizziness and nausea. Our cigar strength chart explains why some cigars carry more nicotine than others.

The “I don’t inhale” myth

Many cigar smokers believe they are safe because they do not inhale. That belief is only partly grounded. Not inhaling does lower lung exposure. Even so, the NCI is clear: all cigar smokers, whether or not they inhale, expose their lips, mouth, tongue, throat and larynx to smoke and its cancer-causing chemicals.

On top of that, smoke drifts around your face, so some of it reaches your lungs anyway.

There is a further catch. Research summarised in the NCI’s Monograph 9 on cigars found that former cigarette smokers who switch to cigars are much more likely to keep inhaling. As a result, they may stay at much higher risk than cigar smokers who never smoked cigarettes. Our guide on whether you inhale cigars covers this in more detail.

Second-hand smoke

Cigars give off a lot of smoke, and that smoke harms the people around you. The World Health Organization says second-hand smoke causes serious heart and lung disease. Tobacco kills more than 7 million people a year, including over 1.6 million non-smokers exposed to other people’s smoke.

Because a cigar burns for an hour or more, it can fill a room with smoke. This is one reason Malaysia’s Act 852 bans smoking in many public places. Our guide to cigar laws in Malaysia explains where smoking is not allowed.

How cigar smokers compare with non-smokers

It helps to compare with people who do not smoke at all, not just with cigarette smokers.

Risk rises with the number of cigars and with inhaling. However, the NCI states there is no safe level of tobacco use. For a side-by-side look at cigarettes, read our cigar vs cigarette guide.

Pregnancy

Smoking during pregnancy harms both mother and baby. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it raises the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome. Nicotine can narrow blood vessels in the umbilical cord and womb, which reduces the oxygen reaching the baby. These risks apply to any tobacco smoke, including second-hand cigar smoke. The good news is that quitting at any point in pregnancy helps.

Smoking and health in Malaysia

Tobacco remains a major health burden in Malaysia. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey Malaysia 2023, carried out by the Ministry of Health’s Institute for Public Health, found that 19.0% of adults aged 15 and over smoked tobacco. That is about 4.8 million people, including 35.7% of men. The survey did not report a separate figure for cigars.

The Health Minister said in 2024 that tobacco use causes about 27,000 deaths a year in Malaysia. On the positive side, GATS 2023 found that 59.7% of current smokers planned to or were thinking about quitting.

Getting help to quit in Malaysia

If you want to cut down or stop, support is available. The Ministry of Health’s mQuit programme, launched in 2015, offers a personal quit plan, follow-up sessions with trained staff and, where suitable, nicotine replacement therapy. Government clinics and hospitals provide it, as do registered private clinics and pharmacies, which may charge fees.

To find a provider and register, visit the MOH’s JomQuit website. This is also the address printed on cigar packs sold in Malaysia. Your doctor or pharmacist can refer you as well.

The bottom line

So, are cigars bad for you? Yes. They cause cancer, harm the heart and lungs, and deliver addictive nicotine, whether or not you inhale. Their smoke also harms the people around you. Our health hub gathers every guide on this topic, with links to official sources.