Americans are quitting cigarettes — and taking up cigars

Good news, America! More of us are quitting those stinky, health-eroding, death-inducing, money-incinerating cigarettes than ever before. The bad news: We're just sticking a cigar in our mouth instead. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that while overall consumption of smoked tobacco products fell by 27.5 percent from 2000 to 2011, consumption of non-cigarette tobacco products increased by a huge 123 percent, mainly because they're cheaper. Since 2009, pipe tobacco, loose tobacco and cigars have been taxed at a lower rate. In particular, "cigarette-like (tobacco products), formerly thought of as small cigars, have been modified slightly by the manufacturers … so that they can be taxed at the lower rate," said one of the report's authors. They also noted that young consumers in particular are puffing away on cigarette-like small cigars instead of pricey cancer sticks. [Source] 

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