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| | The possible advantages of smoking:
In spite of the huge volumes of accumulated evidence about the hazards of smoking, scientific studies exist which talk about the benefits of smoking. Ulcerative colitis is observed in nonsmokers by two times more than in smokers. The Nicotine of tobacco smoke possesses anti-inflammatory properties. Data is available that nicotine, due to its action on the balance of mediators acetylcholine and dopamine in the CNS, reduces the probability of Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases, however, scientific research works are carried out with diametrically opposite conclusions. Data is available, which says that smoking reduces the risk of growth of endometrial cancer (in connection with proved anti estrogen action of nicotine), but these studies are challenged.
Frustration has turned a Chinese chimpanzee from a mild-mannered simian into a problem primate who smokes cigarettes and spits at visitors, the Xinhua news agency says.
"The chimp is spitting at tourists and smoking," Xinhua quoted a boy visiting the zoo. "Just now a tourist threw a cigarette just outside the cage, she tried to get the cigarette butt with a stick."
The cigar is not simply one way of smoking tobacco, it's an entire philosophy. And this was understood by many of those who were fans of cigars, among them being Sigmund Freud, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Alexander Skriabin, and many other no less prominent personalities. Somerset Maugham in his memoirs wrote: "When I was young and very poor, I smoked cigars only when I was treated to them. I made a promise to myself: if I ever acquire money, I will enjoy a cigar every day after lunch and after dinner. This was the only promise I made in my youth and then kept." The best of the myriad types of cigars are those made by hand. This is usually confirmed by the special inscription on the box "Totalmente a Mano." To manufacture them, several whole tobacco leaves are compressed lengthwise and secured by a binding leaf, after which it is wound around with a wrapper leaf, which is the main one since it determines the cigar's aroma. The production of these items is time-consuming; therefore, as far back as the 1920s some ardent manufacturers switched to making cigars by machine. Cigars called "machine-made" are not in demand among true cigar aficionados and fans because otherwise they wouldn't be called consumer goods. After all, for simplicity of the process of manufacturing and, consequently, reducing the cost of such cigars, the binders and wrappers are not whole as in genuine cigars but are obtained by gluing tobacco powders and organic compounds after machine rolling. The filler of such a product also consists of cut tobacco leaves instead of whole ones specified by the technology. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully examine all inscriptions on the box when purchasing cigars.
All components of today's good handmade cigars contain 100% natural leaves which must be indicated on the box as the inscription "Natural Wrapper" or in the name of the type of wrapper as, for example, Sumatra, Brazil, Connecticut, or others. An indication of the type of wrapper is of special importance. From its appearance, one can determine cigar quality: whether it is elastic enough, whether or not there are cracks and rough surface, which substantially affects both its strength and flavor. It is believed that a darker leaf color indicates strength. This isn't quite so, although actually there are a good many strong varieties among dark cigars. Still, the filler and not the wrapper always determines the strength; it plays the role of first violin in taste intonation. The color gamut of wrappers is very diverse - from light green to anthracite black; colors of intermediate tones belong to the brown gamut.
The time of smoking a cigar, which according to etiquette is usually done to two-thirds of its length, is different depending on the manufacturing method. Furthermore, it depends also on the activity of the smoker himself. Still, it is known that this process can last from 30 minutes to as much as 2 hours.
As for such a variety of tobacco products as cigarillos, these are nothing more than small cigars. On some boxes of cigarillos made in the United States, next to the designation "Cigars" can be the clarifying inscription "little" or "small." For the British, cigarillos are designated by the presence of the words "miniatures" or "whiffs." Producers in other countries took the weight of these tobacco products as the basis: if it weighs 3 grams or less, it is a cigarillo, but if more than 3 grams, a cigar. There is also a so-called Cuban division where the standard Demi Tasse is taken as the "golden mean," namely: length 10 cm anddiameter 1.2 cm; smaller diameters indicate cigarillos. What is more, it is the diameter that is taken into consideration because a variety of the cigarillo, the panatela or panetela, has a "cigar" length. |
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