What are the dangers of cigar smoking? i smoked a cigar or two a day for ten years and have recently quit. am i in danger of getting emphysema?

First : First of all, congratulations on quitting tobacco! this is by far the best medical decision you have made in your life --guaranteed! there are many factors that can influence your chance of getting emphysema, including the type and quantity of tobacco that you smoke as well as the length of time that you smoked. However your genetic profile, or the inherited set of genes from your mother and father is also very important and highly influences whether you are going to develop emphysema. Some people who have a strong family history of emphysema or just even if you happen to be unlucky to inherit a set of emphysema-prone genes, the amount of smoking that you did can easily be enough to cause emphysema. Other factors such as environmental dust and fume exposure, the development of other lung diseases and passive smoking can also lead to the development of emphysema. It is sensible to just to go and see your doctor who can order a simple pulmonary function test and see if you have emphysema.

Did you inhale?: Few cigar smokers inhale tobacco smoke in the way that cigarette smokers do, so severe lung damage like emphysema is not common in cigar smokers. Small cigars, cigarillos etc are inhaled and can cause more problems. The biggest problems with cigar smoke relate to head and neck cancer - the mouth, tongue, lips, throat and larynx, where the cigar smoke does get to. Get good oral exam and stay quit!

Little danger but..: Congratulations on stopping smoking! unfortunately, smoking cigars has the same hazards as smoking cigarettes- see http://www.Quitsmokingsupport.Com/cigars.Htm. However, unless you have an unusual genetic predisposition as dr. Ruttledge discusses, most people will not get significant emphysema from 10 years of smoking, if you don't smoke again i like your odds!