Truly the thing about smoking or other risky behaviors is exposure. Think of a fertile young woman. If she goes out and has unprotected sex once, she's probably not going to get knocked up. If she does it all the time, she will. Same principle applies to smoking, it's a matter of exposure. If you look at the data in those monographs, lung cancer among cigar smokers who do not inhale is negligable, however, oral type cancers occur at higher frequencies than in non-smokers. The results of smoking (mostly cigarettes) are the number one reason for caused death in this nation today, with obesity coming in second; that much should be obvious. If you're reading this post, chances are you smoke cigars, as do I. The goal is then to limit exposure. First and foremost, don't inhale or smoke indoors (especially if you have kids). Second, limit your smoking to one cigar per day at the most. Even better, have a few cigars on the weekend. Your statistical odds of contracting cigar related cancer at a few cigars per week will be only negligably higher than non-smokers. The benefit will also be better tasting smokes, since smoking seriously dulls the palate.
