Nicotine in Cigars related to strength...

[Justified Degenerate]

I have a question. I understand that cigars have higher nicotine than ciggarettes. I also understand that tobacco leaves naturally produce nicotine. I also know that the fermentation process reduces the amount of nicotine in the tobacco. Now the question is... does this mean that a mild cigar is mild because of less nicotine? Is a full bodied cigar strong because of more nicotine?

On the other hand... i also realize that aged tobacco has lower levels of nicotine. How long does the tobacco need to rest or age before the levels drop to a level at or below ciggs? Can a full bodied cigar that is aged have low levels of nicotine, but retain some great flavor? This is where it all becomes blurry to me. Any help on this matter is appreciated!

[Rubix^3]

In my experience, flavor and strength are separate attributes. I have smoked cigars that have complex flavor, but are lower in nic., while others have a high nic. content and are more simple in flavor structure.

[OracleSmoke]

Nicotine content in the leaf is due to more than one factor. Strain and location of leaf and curing process mostly determine nicotine levels.

You can't judge nicotine content by wrapper color, and you can't judge it by the terms body/flavor. If you're new to smoking you're going to be more sensitive to nicotine fluctuation than someone who's been smoking for a while.

If you're concerned with nicotine content, check the forums for what others are saying about the stick you're looking at.

At some point, you'll generally not notice the nicotine much on a vast majority of cigars unless they're well known for their power, like a Chisel.

I usually smoke toros and while there are a few that I will notice a bit of a mild buzz from, the days are long gone where I need to lay down from smoking too much or too fast.

Also, make sure you keep your blood sugar up before you smoke something strong. Eat a decent size meal. If you can, drink something with sugar in it while smoking to keep it up as well and the nicotine impact will usually be less. Empty stomach smoking causes a fair amount of the bad nicotine response some people get.

[Shaz]

In the majority of cases, nicotine content and mildness or full bodied do go hand in hand, but high nicotine content doesn't necessarily mean full bodied cigar, or vise versa. I've had mild cigars but with a lot of nicotine and full bodied cigars that aren't loaded with nicotine.
On your other question, I can't imagine a normal sized cigar ever having less nicotine than a cigarette, no matter how long it's aged. Maybe a mini or something small. I think that if you age a cigar so long that there's that much less nicotine in it, you will loose most of the flavor out of it as well.

[d_day]

I don't think a cigar will ever have less nicotine than a cigarette. There is one simple reason for this; a cigar contains much more tobacco. A cigarette might contain 1/4 the tobacoo from an average tobacco leaf. Whereas cigars are comprised of somewhere between 3 and 8 full leaves, so anywhere from 12 to 32 times the tobacco.

[Justified Degenerate]

thanks for all of the replies... i mean i know i like medium bodied cigars such as romeo y julieta viejo, maxx by alec bradley, etc. Those are not too strong unless i smoke them too fast. I love the flavor, but do not need the buzz, if i wanted buzz i would drink. I mean, a little bit is no big deal at all, but i don't want to be blown off of my feet unsuspectedly. What are some good medium to full bodied sticks with low nicotine if anybody knows of any? Maybe this can be a good subtopic... and also which cigars have a very high amount so i can stay away from those for the time being until my palate is expanded? Thanks all

[slayoner]

For good flavor and little to no noticable nicotine buzz (for me anyway) try CAO black, also notable to mention i'd recently eaten and drink sodas like a mad man so that may have had something to do with lack of perceived buzz but i'm generally pretty sensitive to the effects of nicotine.

one that knocked me on my butt was a Padilla sungrown, again great cigar but couldn't come close to finishing it, it was a while ago and I only smoke one, can't guestimate the proximity of my last meal, possible blood sugar or anything like that for that smoking experience, but I do recall staggering inside, curling up in the fetal position, and were i not in iraq i probably would have called my grandmother and apologized.

can't wait to tackle another one!

[wescoaststogie]

Originally Posted by OracleSmoke

Nicotine content in the leaf is due to more than one factor. Strain and location of leaf and curing process mostly determine nicotine levels.

You can't judge nicotine content by wrapper color, and you can't judge it by the terms body/flavor. If you're new to smoking you're going to be more sensitive to nicotine fluctuation than someone who's been smoking for a while.

If you're concerned with nicotine content, check the forums for what others are saying about the stick you're looking at.

At some point, you'll generally not notice the nicotine much on a vast majority of cigars unless they're well known for their power, like a Chisel.

I usually smoke toros and while there are a few that I will notice a bit of a mild buzz from, the days are long gone where I need to lay down from smoking too much or too fast.

Also, make sure you keep your blood sugar up before you smoke something strong. Eat a decent size meal. If you can, drink something with sugar in it while smoking to keep it up as well and the nicotine impact will usually be less. Empty stomach smoking causes a fair amount of the bad nicotine response some people get.

This was a solid reply, especially the bold paragraph. The biggest problems I see people new to cigars having are related to insufficient blood sugar levels.