Cigar Smoking Is Associated with Excess All-Cause Mortality

Cigar and pipe smokers often claim — incorrectly — that their use of tobacco is not harmful, unlike cigarette smoking. In this U.S. national longitudinal mortality study, 26 years of data from nearly 360,000 U.S. adults (age range, 35–80) were used to update mortality risk estimates for current and former cigar, pipe, and cigarette smokers. Patients who used smokeless tobacco and those who used multiple products were excluded; participants were assessed every 3 years.

Exclusive cigarette smokers' mortality was roughly twofold higher than that of never-smokers; exclusive cigar smokers' mortality was 20% higher than that of never-smokers. Relatively few deaths occurred for exclusive pipe smokers, and excess mortality was not statistically sign…