Is teenage cigar use likely to lead to nicotine addiction?
Even though there has been relatively little published research on nicotine dependence in cigar smokers, several observations are notable. Addiction studies with cigarettes and spit tobacco show clearly that addiction to nicotine occurs almost exclusively during adolescence and young adulthood when young people begin using these tobacco products. Some researchers are concerned that the current high rate of adolescent cigar use may result in a higher probability for nicotine dependence in this younger age group. Two additional observations raise the concern that use of cigars may predispose individuals to the use of cigarettes. Data from the California survey showed that the relapse rate of former cigarette smokers who smoked cigars was twice as great as the relapse rate of former cigarette smokers who did not smoke cigars. The second is the observation that cigar smokers were more than twice as likely to take up cigarette smoking for the first time than people who never smoked cigars.
