A new study suggest that the common belief that cigars are healthier than cigarettes is false.
A research team, led by Dr. Jiping Chen, an epidemiologist in the Office of Science at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products, reportedly stated their findings revealed that cigar smokers had much higher levels of toxic substances in their body than non-smokers, according to the website Medical News Today.
Cigar smokers reportedly had concentrations of a specific carcinogenic at levels comparable with cigarette smokers.
The belief that cigars are healthier than cigarettes came about as it was found that cigar smokers are less likely to inhale the smoke compared to cigarette smokers.
Cigar smokers are reportedly actually at a lower risk of developing smoking-related diseases, such as lung cancer and heart disease, than cigarette smokers, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, it has reportedly been noted by the institute that these diseases are still higher among cigar smokers than non-smokers.
For the recent study, authors used data from the 1999-2012 National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey (NHANES) to check study participants for the presence of five substances that indicate tobacco exposure, according to Fox News. According to the researchers' analysis, cigar smokers reportedly had much high concentrations of cotinine and cadmium in their blood and 1-butanol (NNAL) in their urine.
Researchers also reportedly find that those who smoked cigars on a daily basis had concentrations of NNAL in their urine similar to that of daily cigarette users.
"Our results are consistent with epidemiologic evidence demonstrating cigar smoking as a cause of disease and premature death," the researchers wrote.
