DBriers.com All Things Biology
Two popular sources of tobacco smoke are the Black and Mild and Cigarettes (many brands). As a college student who quit smoking I went to search for factual information on the 2 most popular types of tobacco that I saw people smoke. I wanted to know:
- What’s inside the Stick?
- Which had more Nicotine
- Which has a greater chance of causing a disease like cancer.
For more info on smoking and cancer, see the difference between Tobacco and Marijuana.
What’s Inside
A Black and Mild is a 4-6 inch cigar made of pipe tobacco rolled in a tobacco leaf. There is also a tip that may be wooden or plastic. Black and Milds are a type of cigar that is not meant to be inhaled. This is because the the type of nicotine it contains can be easily absorbed through the walls of your mouth similar to how a cough drop delivers medicine.
Modern cigarettes are typically filtered and contain processed tobacco and other additives wrapped in thin rolling paper. Cigarette smoke is inhaled into the lungs to deliver its nicotine.
Nicotine is naturally found in tobacco but many products on the market have extra nicotine added that will increase the likely hood of you purchasing the product again.
Chances of Getting Cancer
Whether you smoke Black and Milds or Cigarettes, the risk of tobacco smoke exposure are similar for all sources of tobacco smoke. The risks of developing disease symptoms depends on the intensity of your smoking habits.
People who smoke cigarettes typically smoke multiple cigarettes while users of Black and Milds smoke less frequently. This reflects the increased number of deaths caused by cigarette smoking in comparison to Black and Milds.
However, smoking Black and Milds is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. Both may lead to diseases such as heart disease, lung disease, pancreatic cancer, many more diseases.
Nicotine Content
BOTH cigarettes and Black and Milds contain nicotine. Below is a comparison chart of the nicotine found in Black and Milds versus common cigarette products.
[easytable caption=”2005 Tar,Nicotine, and Carbon Monoxide Report”] Product,Nicotine(mg)Black And Mild,100-200
Newport 100 ,1.0
Camel 100 ,1.2
Marlboro 100,1.1
[/easytable]
For a more complete comparison see the monograph of Cigars and their health effects by National Institute of Cancer or the Tar Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide Report
Summary
- Black and Milds have much nicotine than cigarettes
- Black and Milds keep the smoke in their mouth, while cigarette smoke is inhaled into the lungs
- Black and Mild smokers usually smoke less frequently. The pattern of smoking may reflect why cigarettes have a much high death rate.
- Cigarettes have a filter and thinner wrapping paper that reduces the amount of toxins your inhale in comparison to Black and Milds
References
Here are links to the studies conducted and referenced by the:
Credit to Nikita2706 for the picture of cigarettes.
I understand you aren’t supposed to inhale the black and milds, but what if you do inhale? What will happen?
You will be exposed to the same chemicals whether you inhale a black and mild into your lungs versus the lining of your mouth. The problem is that these chemicals will be damaging your lungs in addition to already increasing your chance of getting mouth cancers. Basically, you would be exposing more of your body to harmful chemicals than needed.
u, I have a question I am 27 and I have smoke blk n milds for about 5yrs. I smoke almost a pack a day and do inhale them. I know it’s not good but I can’t stand cigs they make me sick and I just enjoy wine flavored blk n milds are they more addictive that ,it’s and what can I go to help me quit BC I usually smoke all the time and I really hate it but love it if that makes any sense. Is smoking them worse than cigs? Any comments all b4 greatly appreciated
Sorry about my typos…. Auto correct and Swype changes everything..I should pay more attention.buy hopefully you will understand what I was trying too say thanks
I understand what you mean. Smoking can get you hooked to the feeling but you feel bad about it afterwards. Addiction is a sneaky SOB…
Regardless if you smoke cigs vs black n milds you are increasing your chances of getting cancer.
You can’t just look at your smoking habits though. The genes given to you by your parents play a big role in repairing the damage from smoking.
Since you cant just look at your genes whenever you want you never know your “true” risk. So I wouldn’t worry about comparing the two. What you do have now is stats of the past.
Statistics of the past say, about 17.2% male and 11.6% of female smokers get lung cancer[LINK].
So youre probably thinking 17 out of 100 isnt much. Well what about 172 out of 1,000. That number is a little more realistic to me.
If you are worried about cancer you know what you need to do. Try to slow down on the smoking and eventually push to quit. If you think the risk is minimal then carry on.
P.S.I recommend this online tool for estimating your risk of lungs cancer(your risk at 50 and older).
[Online Cancer Risk tool].
Yeah I’ve been smoking blacks since 06 but haven’t really haven’t start smoking Them until 2009. I’m 24 and getting worried got 2kids now so I’m trying to think ahead. I myself am also addicted 2 the Wine Blacks n Milds I smoke 2 but 3 the most in a day and I do Inhale all the time. I’m wondering the same thing my risk of getting cancer.(plus watching breaking bad reminds me of my risk of getting cancer) I take off the plastic because it Burns as well as the wood the heat within. How soon is it till signs of cancer?
The average age of lung cancer diagnosis is about 70. The chances of you seeing signs of lung cancer are pretty slim before age 50. If you want to check the stats of people getting cancer after 50 you can follow use this link: http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/adult/lung/screening-decision-tool
If you’re trying to quit blacks, I recommend going to a smoke shop and buying yourself a refillable e-cig. I smoked black n mild wine for about 6 years. One pack every day I worked and two every day off. Just enjoyed relaxing with a black and talking or playing on my phone. Anyways, I’ve tried the cheap disposable e-cigs but I think the problem is I don’t smoke menthol or regular, so they didn’t help. But about a month ago I purchased a refillable one where you can choose your flavor and change when ever. Cost me about 50 for the battery and tip, and it’s about $7 for a bottle of uh.. smoke liquid, that lasts me about a week each. You can choose your nicotine level also, so since blacks have much more, start off high and once your used to smoking something different, slowly lower the nicotine level so that your eventually smoking less. Maybe you won’t quit but you can smoke less and save a lot of money over cigs or blacks.
Hi,
I was wondering if black and milds have more nicotine than ciggorettes, then why did I not become addicted to them? I would usually only smoke blacks on Friday and Saturday nights (while intoxicated) but I would smoke at least a couple a night. This probably went on for 2 years. Then maybe an additional 6 months went by where I would smoke them when I was sober just because I liked them. Probably one or two a day in those 6 months. After that I decided I didn’t want to smoke any more so I quit. I don’t remember having any withdrawals whatsoever and I’ve never smoked again. Funny thing is I’ve never smoked an actual cigarette only cigars. Anyways this went on when I was young, but like I said I haven’t smoked anything since. Is there any explanation to why I haven’t become addicted? It’s perplexed me ever since and I always assumed they had less nicotine than ciggorettes, but you just disproved that theory.
Hi I’ve been smoking Newport 100 for 9 years now and about a pack and a half now haven’t smoked a cig in 3 days but I’ve been smoking a black or two a day. I understand it is not a safe alternative but I do feel it’s help me stop smoking. After reading the article I figure I need to quit smoking blacks because I’m defeating the purpose of quoting smoking cigs in the first place but what I want to know what is the likelihood when I stop smoking the black that I will go through withdraw and still wanting to go back to cigs?
I’m definetly a smoker. A great method is using the one I do. I buy a pack of rolling papers and use about a third of the black. This way, you remove the nicotine, and the paper surrounding the tobacco. It’s still harmful bet a lot less. I rarely have the feeling of needing to smoke now.
Ok I was just browsing but while informative this article is misleading sort of. Cigarettes are processed tobaco PLUS additives. Black and milds are processed pipe tobacco woth no additives wrapped in a tobacco leaf. And real cigars are non processed cigar tobacco. Cigarettes have additives that are carcinogens to make them more addictive. Black and milds dont with the exception of thw agent used to keep tje filler together which isnt a carcinogen. Nicotine is NOT a carcinogen either. The myth is nicotine is what causes cancer but its the derivative of nicotine that is formed when the nicotine gets to your liver called cotinine that is classified as a carcinogen. As for method. Cigars have more nicotine purely on the size of the stick. When you inhale a cigarette it hits your mouth and throat where some , very little, is abosrbed and your lungs take the blunt of the drag. The walls of your lungs where gas exchange takes place is one cell thick amd is therefore extremely susceptible to absorbtion ( actually diffusion) of the nicotine amd other chemicals. In real cigars its straight tobacco and you inhale it into your mouth and taste like a wine amd them exhale it never reaches your lungs. As for the guy inhaling b and ms im sorry your doing terrible damage. To your lungs. While mone of these are safer cigars are safer as long as you smoke them like a cigar and not a cigarette. Just a clue small cigars lile b and ms and cigarillos are made to get people introduced to real cigars because the companies are only taxed for them as cigarettes necause of the size whereas a full cigar is taxed 700% (on avg) due to a billed passed in 2007. Now you know
Damn I got to stop smoking blacks, after years of pack a day cigs I quit for a month. And now been smoking one black a day , feels better but defeating the purpose or worse it seems.