# Cigarette

By [Colak](https://paragraph.com/@colak) · 2024-01-17

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A **cigarette** is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically [tobacco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco), that is rolled into [thin paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_paper) for [smoking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking). The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term _cigarette_, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a [cannabis cigarette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_\(cannabis\)) or an [herbal cigarette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbal_cigarette). A cigarette is distinguished from a [cigar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigar) by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is typically white. Most modern cigarettes are [filtered](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_filter), although this does not make the smoke inhaled from them contain fewer carcinogens and harmful chemicals.

There are significant negative health effects from smoking cigarettes such as [cancer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer), [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease) (COPD), [heart disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiovascular_disease), [birth defects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_defect), and other [health problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tobacco) relating to nearly every organ of the body. [Nicotine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine), the [psychoactive drug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug) in tobacco, makes cigarettes [highly addictive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_dependence). About half of cigarette smokers die of tobacco-related disease and lose on average 14 years of life. Every year, tobacco cigarettes kill more than 8 million people worldwide; with 1.2 million of those being non-smokers dying as the result of exposure to [second-hand smoke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-hand_smoke). These harmful effects have led to strict legislation that has prohibited smoking in many workplaces and public areas, regulated marketing and [purchasing age](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age) of tobacco, and levied taxes to discourage cigarette use.

In the 21st century, a product called an [electronic cigarette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette) (also called an e-cigarette or vape) was developed, in which the substance contained within it (typically a liquid [solution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_of_electronic_cigarettes#E-cigarette_liquid) containing nicotine) is vaporized by a battery-powered heating element, as opposed to being burned. Such devices are commonly promoted by their manufacturers as safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes, although there are [some health risks associated with their use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_of_electronic_cigarettes). Since e-cigarettes are a relatively new product, scientists do not possess data on their possible long-term health effects.

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*Originally published on [Colak](https://paragraph.com/@colak/cigarette)*