A cigarette is a thin tube of paper filled with tobacco for smoking. A cigar is a roll of dried tobacco leaves that people smoke, like a cigarette but bigger and without paper around it. Cigar smoking dates back to before the 19th century but cigarettes were rarely smoked at that time. Mechanized making of cigarettes is de rigeur nowadays but the rolling of cigars by hand is still a matter of quality among the traditional manufacturers. In Central America and Cuba, cigar-makers take pride in printing ‘totalmente a mano (totally by hand) on cigar boxes.

While a cigarette’s outer covering is regular paper and no great importance is attached to it, for cigars, the wrapper is almost everything in determining the flavor and class of the cigar. The wrapper of the cigar is made from the widest leaves available. According to its color, cigars are classified as follows:

• Claro light ‘“ is tan or yellow and means the tobacco has been grown in the shade.
• Double claro cigars ‘“ light brown or light green because leaves are picked before maturing and dried quickly.
• Colorado reddish-brown, mid-brown, dark brown depends on leaves grown in the Dominican Republic, Cuba or the Honduras
• Oscuro cigars are almost black or very dark brown and have an oily look. The leaves are generally grown in Connecticut, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico or Brazil

Cigarettes are traditionally white and have processed tobacco while cigars have whole-leaf tobacco. Microcrystalline cellulose is added to cigarette paper to enhance burning. Modern creative manufacturers have come up with innovative ideas rolling special cigarettes for women with a low nicotine content, herbal cigarettes, flavored cigarettes with coffee, tea etc as aromas and environment-friendly cigarettes! However, public smoking is not allowed in most countries around the world and smoking cigarettes and cigars are both harmful to health. Both cigar and cigarette companies are required to print this warning on their packaging across the world.

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