Smoking hundreds of cigarettes significantly increases the likelihood of developing breast cancer.
At the next stage of research, scientists are going to find out what impact the development of breast cancer has a number of smoked cigarettes.
The team of scientists from the Mayo Clinic (USA) compared the risk factors in 1 225 women, breast cancer patients, and the 6 872 patients whose disease is not diagnosed. The results showed 10% of the subjects smoked at the time of the experiment, 9% separated from the pernicious habit some time ago, while 81% never had it. In women who had smoked in total during the life of a hundred or more cigarettes, the risk of the disease was much higher than the others.
However, the probability of occurrence of malignant tumors in the breast is markedly reduced, as only a woman stop smoking.
It was also found that oral contraceptives for 11 years or more increases the risk of developing breast cancer by 200%. In women who received postmenopausal hormone therapy, the risk increased by 81%. In addition, each year the life of the likelihood of cancer increases by 2%. A hysterectomy (removal of uterus), by contrast, reduces the risk by 35%.
At the next stage of research, scientists are going to find out what impact the development of breast cancer have a smoking in pre-and postmenopausal period, the number of cigarettes smoked and passive smoking.
Recall also that smoking cessation rapidly reduces the risk of heart disease. Within a few weeks after the rejection of cigarettes among women reduced the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and two other related substances. In addition, the content decreases in blood C-reactive protein (CRP), whose presence indicates inflammation in the body, and interleukin-6, also participates in the immune response and inflammatory reaction.
Friday 13 November 2009
Thursday 27 August 2009
Two years later, fire-safe cigarettes will become mandatory in Estonia
Interior Minister Juri Pihl has prepared a bill which in 2011 in Estonia does not prohibit the sale of fading in themselves cigarettes.
As writes today Eesti Päevaleht, in the explanatory note to the Tobacco Act the reasons for the amendments. The ban on the sale of cigarettes that do not die out by themselves, associated primarily with the desire to reduce the number of fires and number of related deaths in the country, portal novosti.err
According to Head of Department policy and crisis Rescue MIA Lauri Lugna, as a positive example we can look at the experience of the United States and Canada. Once in these states have shifted to or a rapidly self-extinguishing cigarettes, both countries have significantly reduced the number of fires.
A new type of cigarette is made of special paper that extinguishes the smoldering tobacco if smoking ceases to inhale.
Note that Sweden, where every third fire fatalities linked to careless smoking, going to go to the "fire-safe" cigarettes in 2010.
As writes today Eesti Päevaleht, in the explanatory note to the Tobacco Act the reasons for the amendments. The ban on the sale of cigarettes that do not die out by themselves, associated primarily with the desire to reduce the number of fires and number of related deaths in the country, portal novosti.err
According to Head of Department policy and crisis Rescue MIA Lauri Lugna, as a positive example we can look at the experience of the United States and Canada. Once in these states have shifted to or a rapidly self-extinguishing cigarettes, both countries have significantly reduced the number of fires.
A new type of cigarette is made of special paper that extinguishes the smoldering tobacco if smoking ceases to inhale.
Note that Sweden, where every third fire fatalities linked to careless smoking, going to go to the "fire-safe" cigarettes in 2010.
Tuesday 17 March 2009
The Major Colors of Cigar Wrappers
Nowadays there are six color variants in use. There used to be as many as ten, but now we’re dealing with just six. Wrapper leaves are grown in the countries of Cuba, Sumatra, The United States, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Cameroon.The different colours are as shown, from light to dark.
Wrapper Types
Double Claro (also called Candela or American Market Select) - green to greenish brown. The color is achieved by picking the leaf before it reaches maturity, and then drying it rapidly. Very mild, almost bland with very little oil.
Claro - Light tan. Usually this is the color of shade grown tobacco. Connecticut Shade wrappers are said to be some of the finest in the world. Shade grown tobacco is grown under large canopies to protect the tobacco from harsh sunlight. Neutral flavor and smooth smoking.
Natural (see also English Market Selection) - Light brown to brown. These are most often sun grown, meaning they are not protected by canopies like shade grown leaves. Fuller bodied flavor than shade grown leaves, but still very smooth.
Colorado Claro - Mid-brown, tawny. (For example, brands such as Dominican Partagas or Fuentes, using Camaroon wrappers.)
Colorado - Reddish dark brown, aromatic. A cigar with this wrapper tastes robust and rich.
Colorado Maduro - Dark brown, medium strength, slightly more aromatic the maduro. Usually gives a rich flavor, as found in many of the best Honduran cigars.
Maduro - Dark brown to very dark brown. These usually have more texture and veining than the lighter wrappers. They are often described as oily looking, with stronger taste - sweet to some palates with a unique aroma.
Oscuro - Very dark brown or almost black. They are the strongest tasting of all wrappers. These wrappers tend to be from Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, or Connecticut Broadleaf.
English Market Selection - A broad designation refering to brown cigars (anything other double claro essentially). The darker the color, the sweeter and stronger the flavor and the greater the oil and sugar content of the wrapper. Darker wrappers normally spend longer on the plant or come from greater altitudes. The additional exposure to the sun at higher altitudes tends to enhance the production of oil (which protects the plant) and sugar (because of increased photosynthesis). Sure leaves are typically fermented for longer as well.
Wrapper Types
Double Claro (also called Candela or American Market Select) - green to greenish brown. The color is achieved by picking the leaf before it reaches maturity, and then drying it rapidly. Very mild, almost bland with very little oil.
Claro - Light tan. Usually this is the color of shade grown tobacco. Connecticut Shade wrappers are said to be some of the finest in the world. Shade grown tobacco is grown under large canopies to protect the tobacco from harsh sunlight. Neutral flavor and smooth smoking.
Natural (see also English Market Selection) - Light brown to brown. These are most often sun grown, meaning they are not protected by canopies like shade grown leaves. Fuller bodied flavor than shade grown leaves, but still very smooth.
Colorado Claro - Mid-brown, tawny. (For example, brands such as Dominican Partagas or Fuentes, using Camaroon wrappers.)
Colorado - Reddish dark brown, aromatic. A cigar with this wrapper tastes robust and rich.
Colorado Maduro - Dark brown, medium strength, slightly more aromatic the maduro. Usually gives a rich flavor, as found in many of the best Honduran cigars.
Maduro - Dark brown to very dark brown. These usually have more texture and veining than the lighter wrappers. They are often described as oily looking, with stronger taste - sweet to some palates with a unique aroma.
Oscuro - Very dark brown or almost black. They are the strongest tasting of all wrappers. These wrappers tend to be from Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, or Connecticut Broadleaf.
English Market Selection - A broad designation refering to brown cigars (anything other double claro essentially). The darker the color, the sweeter and stronger the flavor and the greater the oil and sugar content of the wrapper. Darker wrappers normally spend longer on the plant or come from greater altitudes. The additional exposure to the sun at higher altitudes tends to enhance the production of oil (which protects the plant) and sugar (because of increased photosynthesis). Sure leaves are typically fermented for longer as well.
Tuesday 9 December 2008
What can I speak about cigar?
There's a lot that Cigar ash can tell you about the cigar's origin, much more than you could ever imagine! That's why it is of a high importance fo
r professional tasters and experienced smokers, as well as cigar taste and aroma. In fact ash is just a mineral, an inorganic compound that remains as a result of tobacco leaves burning. All tobacco leaf contents capable to give off taste and flavor while burning are turned into volatile compounds, which we can sense through our olfactory receptors and taste buds. All other compounds that do not have these astonishing qualities turn into ash.
I decided to carry out an experiment on my own. I lit a cigar and spent half an hour enjoying its amazing taste and aroma. Thirty wonderful minutes have passed; I drank some of cognac, put on my glasses and proceeded to studying the ash, that had become an impressive length over the half hour.
Sooner or later the ash should fall off. It is considered that this should happen only after the ash reaches at least an inch length - an absolute minimum length for ash on the cigar. The ash shouldn't fall earlier, of course if provided that smoker doesn't make jerky hand movements. If it falls before reaching the minimal length, there is just one conclusion: this is not a good quality cigar.
The the tobacco leaves quality and the degree of care the cigar was rolled with influence the 'solidity' of the ash length. The ash on mechanically rolled cigars is very unstable, whereas hand-rolled cigars have rather stable and firm ash. Besides that, leaves and roller's attitude are very important also. You'll hardly be able to enjoy a fine, neat length of ash if cigar was rolled from too short or torn leaves, or if the roller didn't make the cigar firm enough and left gaps between the leaves. If your cigar ash edges and surface are uneven and it gradually crumbles round the edges, it means that unfortunately this is the case!
Thus, if your cigar was made of long, quality leaves, it must have stable column of ash that can reach one-inch length on condition that you make only easy hand movements.
Provided that the roller has been working scrupulously and doing his job duly, the ash on a cigar should be firm, its edges should be even and neat, it should not scatter from an easy movement or a gentle breeze, and should not crumble throughout the period of the smoke.
After a vigilant study of the ash length I took another sip of cognac, took off my glasses, tasted the flavored smoke, and put the cigar in the ashtray in order to wait till the ash fell off in itself. It fell off rather quickly, revealing the hot point of the cigar with a thin layer of ash. It was time to return to studying its mysterious characteristics.
Besides the ash texture, it is also important that shape of the burning end of the cigar is exposed after the ash has fallen off. If you are smoking for a long period, the burning end can take the most various forms from a small hollow in the middle with harshly bevelled edges to an absolutely level burning surface. But it is considered that the perfect shape of the burning end is a cone.
Why a cone? It is connected with the structure of the cigar. The roller starts making a cigar with a leaf known as ligero. This leaf lying in the very center of the cigar gives all the taste. The ligero leaf is gathered from the very top of the tobacco plant, and it contains the greatest amount of nicotine, sugar and complex gustatory compounds. Therefore no wonder that it burns longer than the other tobacco leaves used to make up a cigar. And the burning end of the cigar has a conical form exactly because this leaf takes the longest time to burn.
The percentage of ligero leaves varies depending on the tobacco blend for every cigar. As a result, the cones can have either sharp or blunt shape. But no matter what they are, conical shape for the burning end of a cigar with a thin layer of ash is the ideal one.
Of course, this shape depends not only on cigar quality, but also on the way it is smoked. You need to smoke lightly and inhale evenly and smoothly.
Thus a conical form of the cigar's burning end with a thin ash layer on it means that it was rolled in accordance with all the requirements, and moreover, it was smoked with as much mastery as the roller put into making it.
The most important test for a cigar is the ash color. It isn't related with the leaves quality or the roller's skill. The main factor that influences the color of the ash is the land on which the tobacco was grown.
Soil is rich with chemical compounds and a variety of mineral deposits, which are carried into plants by moisture. The soil in different regions is distinguished by its own characteristics: different minerals predominate in different places. Hence the same plant will have fundamentally different chemical and mineral contents in different areas. For instance, cigars rolled from tobacco grown in the central regions of Cuba (Remedios) produce almost white ash; cigars made of tobacco from the Vuelta Abajo produce gray ash with white veins. Take into consideration that the two areas are adjacent to each other. The difference takes place because the soil in the Vuelta Abajo is full of various minerals in roughly equal amounts, while the soil in the Remedios Region is characterized by potassium predomination.
The connection between the chemical contents of the soil and the quality of the cigar made of tobacco grown in it has been logically proved. Moreover, in early 2001 one of the scientists from a Canadian consumer organization proposed to make tests on the chemical components in order to protect genuine Cuban cigars from fakes. His idea was that cigars labeled as Cuban, but whose chemical contents proved to be different from the chemical contents of the appropriate region of Cuba, should be removed from the shops right away.
Thus the prevalence of gray and white in the cigar ash testifies that it is of good quality. Pure white ash may be considered as a mark of quality, proving that the cigar is from certain places like Cuba or the Dominican Republic, where there are plantations that are particularly full of potassium. Black ash is a bad sign. Leaves that after burning produce black ash are poor in minerals and produce a very unpleasant taste and smell.
When the ash falls off, there remains a evident change in the cigar taste. The matter is that the ash is very important in the actual process of smoking. While it gradually appears on the cigar, the ash cools the smoke and makes the process of smoking much milder. That's why when the ash falls off a cigar, the smoker feels that it has become stronger and hotter. Therefore the ash can be not only nice in appearance and useful in finding out more information about the cigar, it also has a use from the practical standpoint.
In reality it is not just a pleasant event when cigar ash falls suddenly on clothes, on the table or on the floor. Therefore, cigar ash had a significant influence on European fashion previously - it was cigar ash that peculiarly led to the creation of the smoking jacket. Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister (1804-1881), loved cigars. He smoked them everywhere: in the street, at home, at important meetings and even in the library after dinner. As a result, it wasn't surprising that every day his clothes were sheeted with cigar ash. In order to save his clothes from being ruined, Mr. Disraeli got his tailor to sew him a jacket with satin lapels. It was easy to brush the ash off this smooth material, and moreover ash leaves no traces on satin. Disraeli's tailor did the job so skillfully that jackets with satin lapels (smoking jackets) became soon the height of fashion.
r professional tasters and experienced smokers, as well as cigar taste and aroma. In fact ash is just a mineral, an inorganic compound that remains as a result of tobacco leaves burning. All tobacco leaf contents capable to give off taste and flavor while burning are turned into volatile compounds, which we can sense through our olfactory receptors and taste buds. All other compounds that do not have these astonishing qualities turn into ash.I decided to carry out an experiment on my own. I lit a cigar and spent half an hour enjoying its amazing taste and aroma. Thirty wonderful minutes have passed; I drank some of cognac, put on my glasses and proceeded to studying the ash, that had become an impressive length over the half hour.
Sooner or later the ash should fall off. It is considered that this should happen only after the ash reaches at least an inch length - an absolute minimum length for ash on the cigar. The ash shouldn't fall earlier, of course if provided that smoker doesn't make jerky hand movements. If it falls before reaching the minimal length, there is just one conclusion: this is not a good quality cigar.
The the tobacco leaves quality and the degree of care the cigar was rolled with influence the 'solidity' of the ash length. The ash on mechanically rolled cigars is very unstable, whereas hand-rolled cigars have rather stable and firm ash. Besides that, leaves and roller's attitude are very important also. You'll hardly be able to enjoy a fine, neat length of ash if cigar was rolled from too short or torn leaves, or if the roller didn't make the cigar firm enough and left gaps between the leaves. If your cigar ash edges and surface are uneven and it gradually crumbles round the edges, it means that unfortunately this is the case!
Thus, if your cigar was made of long, quality leaves, it must have stable column of ash that can reach one-inch length on condition that you make only easy hand movements.
Provided that the roller has been working scrupulously and doing his job duly, the ash on a cigar should be firm, its edges should be even and neat, it should not scatter from an easy movement or a gentle breeze, and should not crumble throughout the period of the smoke.
After a vigilant study of the ash length I took another sip of cognac, took off my glasses, tasted the flavored smoke, and put the cigar in the ashtray in order to wait till the ash fell off in itself. It fell off rather quickly, revealing the hot point of the cigar with a thin layer of ash. It was time to return to studying its mysterious characteristics.
Besides the ash texture, it is also important that shape of the burning end of the cigar is exposed after the ash has fallen off. If you are smoking for a long period, the burning end can take the most various forms from a small hollow in the middle with harshly bevelled edges to an absolutely level burning surface. But it is considered that the perfect shape of the burning end is a cone.
Why a cone? It is connected with the structure of the cigar. The roller starts making a cigar with a leaf known as ligero. This leaf lying in the very center of the cigar gives all the taste. The ligero leaf is gathered from the very top of the tobacco plant, and it contains the greatest amount of nicotine, sugar and complex gustatory compounds. Therefore no wonder that it burns longer than the other tobacco leaves used to make up a cigar. And the burning end of the cigar has a conical form exactly because this leaf takes the longest time to burn.
The percentage of ligero leaves varies depending on the tobacco blend for every cigar. As a result, the cones can have either sharp or blunt shape. But no matter what they are, conical shape for the burning end of a cigar with a thin layer of ash is the ideal one.
Of course, this shape depends not only on cigar quality, but also on the way it is smoked. You need to smoke lightly and inhale evenly and smoothly.
Thus a conical form of the cigar's burning end with a thin ash layer on it means that it was rolled in accordance with all the requirements, and moreover, it was smoked with as much mastery as the roller put into making it.
The most important test for a cigar is the ash color. It isn't related with the leaves quality or the roller's skill. The main factor that influences the color of the ash is the land on which the tobacco was grown.
Soil is rich with chemical compounds and a variety of mineral deposits, which are carried into plants by moisture. The soil in different regions is distinguished by its own characteristics: different minerals predominate in different places. Hence the same plant will have fundamentally different chemical and mineral contents in different areas. For instance, cigars rolled from tobacco grown in the central regions of Cuba (Remedios) produce almost white ash; cigars made of tobacco from the Vuelta Abajo produce gray ash with white veins. Take into consideration that the two areas are adjacent to each other. The difference takes place because the soil in the Vuelta Abajo is full of various minerals in roughly equal amounts, while the soil in the Remedios Region is characterized by potassium predomination.
The connection between the chemical contents of the soil and the quality of the cigar made of tobacco grown in it has been logically proved. Moreover, in early 2001 one of the scientists from a Canadian consumer organization proposed to make tests on the chemical components in order to protect genuine Cuban cigars from fakes. His idea was that cigars labeled as Cuban, but whose chemical contents proved to be different from the chemical contents of the appropriate region of Cuba, should be removed from the shops right away.
Thus the prevalence of gray and white in the cigar ash testifies that it is of good quality. Pure white ash may be considered as a mark of quality, proving that the cigar is from certain places like Cuba or the Dominican Republic, where there are plantations that are particularly full of potassium. Black ash is a bad sign. Leaves that after burning produce black ash are poor in minerals and produce a very unpleasant taste and smell.
When the ash falls off, there remains a evident change in the cigar taste. The matter is that the ash is very important in the actual process of smoking. While it gradually appears on the cigar, the ash cools the smoke and makes the process of smoking much milder. That's why when the ash falls off a cigar, the smoker feels that it has become stronger and hotter. Therefore the ash can be not only nice in appearance and useful in finding out more information about the cigar, it also has a use from the practical standpoint.
In reality it is not just a pleasant event when cigar ash falls suddenly on clothes, on the table or on the floor. Therefore, cigar ash had a significant influence on European fashion previously - it was cigar ash that peculiarly led to the creation of the smoking jacket. Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister (1804-1881), loved cigars. He smoked them everywhere: in the street, at home, at important meetings and even in the library after dinner. As a result, it wasn't surprising that every day his clothes were sheeted with cigar ash. In order to save his clothes from being ruined, Mr. Disraeli got his tailor to sew him a jacket with satin lapels. It was easy to brush the ash off this smooth material, and moreover ash leaves no traces on satin. Disraeli's tailor did the job so skillfully that jackets with satin lapels (smoking jackets) became soon the height of fashion.
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