Turner J A, Sillett R W, McNicol M W
Br Med J. 1977 Nov 26;2(6099):1387-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6099.1387.
Five ex-cigarette smokers and five primary pipe and cigar smokers each smoked a large cigar. Carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) and plasma nicotine levels were measured. In the ex-cigarette smokers mean COHb rose from 2.9% to 9.6% and plasma nicotine from 79.0 nmol/l to 281 nmol/l (12.8-45.6 ng/ml). This response was similar to that of cigarette smokers smoking cigarettes, which indicated that the subjects had inhaled and absorbed significant amounts of nicotine. In the primary pipe and cigar smokers the mean COHb rose from 0.8% to 1.0% and the plasma nicotine from 21 nmol/l to 32 nmol/l (3.4-5.2 ng/ml), indicating neither significant inhalation nor significant nicotine absorption.Since ex-cigarette smokers do not seem to lose their habit of inhaling when they change to cigars, measures aimed at persuading smokers to switch to cigars will have little effect on their health. Pipe and cigar smokers who have never smoked cigarettes do not inhale, which probably accounts for their reduced incidence of coronary heart disease and lung cancer. But they also appear not to absorb nicotine, which suggests that nicotine is absorbed largely from the lung and that the buccal mucosa is unimportant. It also raises the interesting question of why primary pipe and cigar smokers do smoke.
五名曾经吸卷烟者和五名主要吸烟斗及雪茄者各自吸了一支大雪茄。测量了碳氧血红蛋白（COHb）和血浆尼古丁水平。在曾经吸卷烟者中，平均碳氧血红蛋白从2.9%升至9.6%，血浆尼古丁从79.0纳摩尔/升升至281纳摩尔/升（12.8 - 45.6纳克/毫升）。这种反应与吸卷烟的吸烟者吸卷烟时的反应相似，这表明受试者吸入并吸收了大量尼古丁。在主要吸烟斗及雪茄者中，平均碳氧血红蛋白从0.8%升至1.0%，血浆尼古丁从21纳摩尔/升升至32纳摩尔/升（3.4 - 5.2纳克/毫升），这表明既没有大量吸入也没有大量吸收尼古丁。由于曾经吸卷烟者在改为吸雪茄时似乎并未改掉吸入的习惯，旨在劝说吸烟者改吸雪茄的措施对他们的健康影响甚微。从未吸过卷烟的烟斗及雪茄吸烟者不吸入，这可能是他们冠心病和肺癌发病率较低的原因。但他们似乎也不吸收尼古丁，这表明尼古丁主要从肺部吸收，而颊黏膜并不重要。这也引发了一个有趣的问题，即主要吸烟斗及雪茄者为何还要吸烟。
