Posted on 04/19/2022 4:32:38 AM PDT by Pontiac
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, except when it's a "premium cigar." But what does "premium" mean, and do premium cigars affect people's health differently than other cigars, or cigarettes?
These are just a few of the questions that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine tried to tackle in its report on "Health Effects and Patterns of Use of Premium Cigars." However, the 14-member committee that issued the report ran into some difficulties, one of which was determining what a "premium" cigar was.
"One of the challenges that we faced was that there was no single consistent definition of premium cigars," Steven Teutsch, MD, MPH, committee chair and senior scholar at the University of Southern California Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, said Thursday during a webinar marking the report's release. So, the committee developed its own definition, which is a cigar that:
Is handmade
Contains filler composed of at least 50% natural long-leaf filler tobacco
Is wrapped in whole-leaf (not reconstituted) tobacco
Weighs at least 6 lbs per 1,000 units
Has no filters or tips
Has no characterizing flavor other than tobacco
The committee considered also using high price as a characteristic, but decided against it because the price can be affected by taxation and changed by the industry, said Teutsch. However, he added, "it does serve as a proxy for the first three attributes of the committee's definition, and at times we turned to price as a proxy when the detailed information wasn't available." Under this definition, the committee determined that about 1% of the U.S. population smokes premium cigars, and they tend to be white, male, and older than average, with a higher income and education level, Teutsch said.
Lack of data was another problem the group faced. For example, "there was no information on minority populations and high-risk populations" in terms of the effects of premium cigars, said committee member Neal Benowitz, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California San Francisco. "These may include youth or young adults, racialized and ethnic populations, pregnant women, those with underlying medical conditions -- especially cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease -- and people with occupational exposure to premium cigars," such as those who work in cigar lounges.
The committee was able to draw a few conclusions, however. The health risk from premium cigars "is directly related to how often premium cigars are used, and inhalation patterns," Benowitz said, noting that cigar smoke is harsher than cigarette smoke, and therefore it's harder to inhale it deeply. While the vast majority of cigarette smokers smoke daily, "about 5% of premium cigar smokers smoke daily, and the others smoke only occasionally. Since most premium cigar users are smoking infrequently, and are less likely to inhale, the population health risks of such users are likely to be less than those who smoke other cigar types. This is not because the cigars aren't as dangerous; it's because of how they smoke and how often."
On the other hand, if cigars are used regularly, the health risk is likely to be similar to cigarette smoking, he said. "Another important thing is if you are a cigar smoker who has smoked cigarettes in the past or currently, because you've learned to inhale, you're more likely to inhale cigar smoke, leading to a greater health risk."
In terms of how cigars are marketed, the committee said in its report that "there is strongly suggestive evidence from survey data that consumers of premium cigars who buy in person typically purchase their cigars from cigar bars or smoke/tobacco specialty shops or outlet stores, whereas nonpremium large traditional cigar users typically purchase their cigars at convenience stores and gas stations. A lower proportion of premium cigar users buy their cigars in person than nonpremium large traditional cigar users."
The committee had several recommendations for the federal government, which included:
The FDA and other federal agencies should develop formal categories and definitions for cigars to be used for research, to ensure consistency across studies
Using this agreed-upon definition for the different types of cigars, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission should establish a system to monitor the use patterns, product characteristics, industry marketing, promotion, and sales by cigar type, and make the data public
The FDA, the NIH, and other federal agencies should conduct or fund research to determine the unique type of marketing, advertising, and promotional practices used by companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell premium cigars. These agencies should also identify strategies for tracking these activities, especially those that may appeal to youth
The federal government's response could significantly affect the trajectory of cigar smoking, said committee member Cristine Delnevo, PhD, MPH, director of the Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies. "What the patterns of use will look like in the future will depend on how the broad category of cigars are regulated -- taxation, marketing practices, etc," she said. "And so we recognize that those patterns can change."
However, tobacco trade and tax data for 2022 show that "the import of premium cigars is actually on an increasing trajectory. There are some data to point towards the fact that premium cigars -- the consumption of them has started to increase. Whether that is an indicator of more people using premium cigars or those using premium cigars smoking more of them, we do not know and we need the survey data to answer those particular questions," she added.
The intricacies of their classifications of “premium” and their analysis indicate they will not be able to tease out stone hard scientific knowledge for a long time. Very surprised that they accepted the term “harsher” without defining what that actually means. At what level does hot products of combustion of vegetable matter become “harsh”?
My family raised tobacco for generations and was sought out by many for their skills. Dad took the buyout when he observed the anti smoking sentiment rising. Up until that time we had always grown at least 15 acres at home and more on several other farms.
Tobacco is or was, the most expensive and profitable crop oweing to the fertilizer, chemical and labor investment necessary to produce it. Usually, we over produced and the excess had to be trucked to Kentucky to sell.
Anyway, I need time to examine premium cigars in depth. I may have to start with a Rocky Patel 1999 Churchill or perhaps an Oliva Nub 460 Connecticut with a wee nip or two of good whisky.
This may also be a good time to bring up Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Betrothed” because I was just rereading “Barrack-Room Ballads” yesterday.
I smoked cigars in an effort to quit cigarrettes. I concentrated on the $12 premiums because as a man of limited means that reduced my consumption but occasionally slipped and smoked rum soaked crooks and such. I finally had a flash of realization that any way I did it, Picayunes or Don Alfonsos, I never had any money in my pocket with which to make other purchases and quit tobacco. I was amazed then that I could actually go buy a magazine or other things in the store. Needless to say I had been a very heavy smoker.
Sounds like a good way to watch the sun set.
That won’t stop anyone from issuing regulations.
Long and extra Long
1. Burns slow and evenly
2. Draws easily
3. Good flavor
4. All tobacco with a real leaf wrap
That is a premium cigar.
“do premium cigars affect people’s health differently than other cigars”
yes: it costs more money to get cancer and heart disease from “premium” cigars than non-premium cigars ...
The most common cancer from cigars is Jaw cancer, esophageal cancer, and stomach cancer.
Heart disease not so much because most cigar smokers don’t inhale.
You have to have what we call an Iron Lung to inhale cigar smoke. It is only slightly less painful than cigarette smoke.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.