There are a variety of other products that people choose to smoke besides the major cigarette brands on the market. These include:

• Cigars and pipes
• Clove cigarettes
• Bidis (“bee dees”)
• “Low-tar” or “light” cigarettes
• Marijuana
• Smokeless tobacco

Cigars and pipes

Cigars and pipes are often considered to be a less risky way for people to smoke, because most of the smoke is not inhaled. Cigars in particular have been growing in popularity over the last several years, especially among younger people. However, both methods do increase the risk for heart disease significantly, as well as many types of cancer and periodontal disease. The fact is, there is no “safe” way to smoke.

Cigars and pipe carry many of the same the same health risks as cigarette smokers, including death from all forms of cancer, high blood pressure and other circulatory problems.

Recent research has found that, although cigars are not as dangerous to overall health as cigarettes, they still carry considerable risk. For example, smoking cigars increases the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Pipes also carry much higher health risks, including a fourfold increase in the risk of throat cancer and increased cancer risk of the esophagus, larynx, colon and pancreas.

Clove cigarettes

Clove cigarettes (also known as "kreteks") contain clove buds as well as tobacco. The clove buds contain an anesthetic (eugenol) that can numb the back of the throat. This impairs the normal gag reflex that protects the lungs from inhaling foreign materials. Use of clove cigarettes carries all the same risks as traditional tobacco products as well as the additional risks associated with inhaling foreign materials into the lungs, including pneumonia, bronchitis and lung abscesses.

Bidis

Bidis (pronounced bee-dees) are hand-rolled, unfiltered cigarettes made in India. Once available only in specialty tobacco shops, bidis are now widely available in the United States. They are the latest fad in American tobacco use, especially among teens. This may be due to their low cost and the fact that bidis exported to the United States are produced in youth-tempting flavors like strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and black licorice. Although many teens mistakenly think that bidis contain no tobacco because of the flavor and the greener color inside, they can release two to three times more tar and nicotine than American-made cigarettes. In India, bidi smoking is associated with a threefold increase in cardiovascular disease and heart attack risk. They are also associated with a fourfold increase in chronic bronchitis, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Low-tar or light cigarettes

According to their packaging, “low tar” or “light” cigarettes contain about 50 percent less tar than standard cigarettes. Unfortunately, most smokers who switch to lighter cigarettes do not reduce their tar levels by 50 percent because they generally take larger puffs and inhale more deeply when smoking “light” tobacco products. Smokers may also have a tendency to smoke more frequently after switching to a “light” product. Therefore, an individual who switches from regular to “light” tobacco products may only reduce their intake of tar and nicotine by about 30 percent or less.

Marijuana

Many people think that smoking marijuana is safer than smoking cigarettes. However, marijuana contains many of the same harmful chemicals that cigarettes do. Some researchers believe that smoking five marijuana cigarettes (“joints”) per week can harm the body as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. Therefore, marijuana may actually raise the risk of lung cancer even higher than cigarettes do. Research has also suggested that marijuana can increase the heart rate by as much as 50 percent, cause stroke in very rare cases and interfere with the functioning of the immune system.

Smokeless tobacco products

There are two forms of “smokeless tobacco”: chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco (shredded tobacco leaves) is typically placed between the lip and gums, causing extra saliva that is spit out frequently. Snuff was formerly used in Europe a “pinch” at a time, inhaled through the nostrils. Today the substance is more commonly placed (or dipped) in the mouth, where it immediately dissolves and rapidly enters the bloodstream.

Contrary to popular belief, the use of chewing tobacco or snuff produces the same negative health effects as smoking. In addition, they carry an increased risk of mouth lesions, oral cancer, and dental problems such as loose teeth or gum disease.