Nineteenth-century men liked cigarettes but also enjoyed cigarillos.
What were cigarillos? Short (3-4”), narrow cigars, usually without a filter, the same size and shape as cigarettes, and packaged similarly. They’re taxed differently these days, and some tobacco companies add weight to them so they qualify as “large cigars” under the federal tax code.
Cigarillo (from Spanish cigarrillo ‘cigarette’; in turn from cigarro ‘cigar,’ and -illo (diminutive suffix); pronounced [siɣaˈriʝo] in parts of Latin America, [θiɣaˈriʎo] in Spain), unlike cigarettes, are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown, tobacco-based paper. They have around 3 grams of tobacco, far more than cigarettes. Although cigars, cigarillos are smaller compared to full-bred cigars. It means you have to smoke this brand the same way you smoke the bigger cigars and not mistake them for cigarettes because they are different. Some cigarillos are made by machine, or a combination of machine-bunched (today) and human-wrapped, while some are entirely handmade (as in the 19th century, but not handmade by the smoker the way cigarettes were. Tobacco stores sold cigarillos.) The making of a cigar will reflect in quality and price. Delicately handcrafted cigarillos are usually more expensive than the mass-produced machine-quality ones.
In the adult population, cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars are most popular among African Americans. Cigar smoke contains higher concentrations of toxic and carcinogenic compounds than cigarette smoke. Regular cigar smoking can increase your risk for cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), and oral cavity (lip, tongue, mouth, throat). It’s linked to gum disease and tooth loss. Heavy cigar smoking increases the risk of emphysema, chronic
MUNICH, GERMANY – OCTOBER 19: Not only for smokers: “ZEUS”-cigars for 500 EUro each and “VENUS”-cigarillos folded in beaten gold by the cigar company at the “Millionaire Fair” on October 19, 2008 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Guenter Vahlkampf/Getty Images)
bronchitis, and cancer. Heavy smokers and those who inhale deeply may be at increased risk of developing coronary heart disease.
Cigar smoke is much thicker and stronger than cigarette smoke, which can lead to a harsh experience if it
GERMANY – CIRCA 1900: Indiana Cigarillos (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
goes down the wrong pipe. Plus, as already mentioned, inhaling cigar smoke increases the risk of nicotine absorption and potential health issues, especially if done regularly.
Can smoking cigars give you a buzz? Yes. The intensity depends on things like cigar size, type of tobacco, and how fast it’s smoked.
Freaking, also known as champing or hyping, is the process of removing the inner layer of filter paper from a cigar by removing the tobacco and pulling the paper out. This may be done to make the tobacco more flavorful or to change the rate at which it burns.
Box of cigarillos on a white background
But the men in the 19th Century didn’t know all that. They
Los Cigarillos – Paris by Aleardo Villa (Photo by �� Swim Ink 2, LLC/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
simply knew they liked them.
El Peru. Cigarros y cigarillos, 1895. Private Collection. Creator: Anonymous. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
