A
cigarillo (
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
for "little cigar", pronounced ) is a short, narrow
cigarA cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the...
. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
but in whole-leaf
tobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing, snuffing, or...
. Cigarillos can be found for purchase alone or in packs, and are often made without
filtersA cigarette filter has the purpose of reducing the amount of smoke, tar, and fine particles inhaled during the combustion of a cigarette. Filters also reduce the harshness of the smoke.-History:...
. Unlike a cigarette, they are not meant to be inhaled but rather smoked like a cigar.
Generally, a cigarillo contains about 3 grams of tobacco, the length varies from 3 to 4 in.
A
cigarillo (
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
for "little cigar", pronounced ) is a short, narrow
cigarA cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the...
. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
but in whole-leaf
tobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it most commonly appears in the forms of smoking, chewing, snuffing, or...
. Cigarillos can be found for purchase alone or in packs, and are often made without
filtersA cigarette filter has the purpose of reducing the amount of smoke, tar, and fine particles inhaled during the combustion of a cigarette. Filters also reduce the harshness of the smoke.-History:...
. Unlike a cigarette, they are not meant to be inhaled but rather smoked like a cigar.
Generally, a cigarillo contains about 3 grams of tobacco, the length varies from 3 to 4 in. and the diameter is about 5 to 8 mm. Comparatively, a cigarette contains less than 1 gram of tobacco and is less than 5" in length and 10 mm in diameter.
Cigarrillos are often machine made. This allows the price to be lower than if they were hand made. They are not produced in as large a quantity as cigarettes but cigarillos are often seen by passionate cigar smokers as a lower quality product. As cigarrillos are often smoked in quantities similar to cigarettes (between 5 and 10 per day), it is not usually necessary to store them in
humidorA humidor is any kind of box or room with constant humidity – and often temperature as well – used to store cigars, cigarettes, or pipe tobacco. For private use, small wooden or acrylic glass humidor boxes for a few dozen cigars are used, while cigar shops may have walk-in humidors,...
s.
Cigarrillos are also known in Europe as a 'Seven Minute Cigar'. This due to the fact that they can be smoked in seven minutes and are often seen as an alternative not only to cigarettes but also where someone does not have enough time to smoke a full cigar.
To improve their image, cigarrillos can often be found in ornamentally designed tins. Manufacturers explain this offers more protection for the product against crushing. This may also be explained as more efficient way of targeted advertising.
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
popular consumer brands include
Swisher SweetsSwisher Sweets are manufactured by Swisher International, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. The company began in 1861 when David Swisher received a small cigar business in settlement of a debt. Back then, cigars were only a sideline for Swisher and his four sons, just one of many notions that they...
,
Black and MildBlack and Mild is a pipe tobacco cigar brand, produced by John Middleton Co., a tobacco company in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. As of November 2007, Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris purchased John Middleton, Inc...
, Al Capone,
White OwlWhite Owls are American-made, machine produced cigars. White Owl cigars are inexpensive, costing around an average of 75 cents. The logo consists of a Snowy owl perched on a cigar.-History:...
, Optimo, and Winchester, while in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
they include
HamletsHamlet are a well known brand of cigar produced by Japan Tobacco. They are available in several varieties, miniatures and also a regular length. They are regularly referred to as the 'mild cigar' in their advertising....
and Café Crème. Inexpensive cigarillos are often identified using a brand name rather than the term
cigarillo.
Health concerns
As is the case with other tobacco products, cigarillos are a
health riskThe health effects of tobacco are the circumstances, mechanisms, and factors of tobacco consumption on human health. Epidemiological research have been focused primarily on tobacco smoking, which has been studied more extensively than any other form of consumption.Tobacco use leads most commonly to...
to those who smoke them. In Europe, they are subject to the same laws which require manufacturers to place a health warning on a portion of each package.
Like cigars, cigarillos are not meant to be inhaled. They are seen as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, but health authorities around the world still warn smokers of the risk they pose due to smoke being in the mouth.
Taxation
In the United States, cigarillos (and cigars) are taxed at a lower rate than cigarettes. The federal tax on cigarettes is 50 cents a pack whereas cigarillos are 4 cents per pack of 20. Large cigars have a federal tax of 5 cents maximum per cigar.
Alternate usage
In Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, "cigarrillo" is a
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
. In the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, it is often spelt
sigarílyo. Short, narrow cigars are referred to instead as
little cigars.
In America, cigarillos could also be used for smoking marijuana. The marijuana is hand wrapped into the whole leaf paper.
See also
- Cigar health effects
- Smoking culture