To the Editor,

As an artist with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts and Art Therapy I am impressed with the fidelity to cultural practices and  design of the fine cigars created by Francisco Rosario (Norwood News, Oct. 20, 2011-Nov. 2, 2011).  Mr. Rosario’s dedication to maintaining the skills he adopted in childhood is admirable and no doubt his cigars bring enjoyment and relaxation to his customers.  As a child advocate, I am concerned that he was working with toxic materials as a child and most likely subjected to the second hand smoke of the adults around him.  As a health professional with a Master’s in Public Health, I have grave concerns about the impact of cigars on the health and well being of Mr. Rosario, his customers, their families, especially children and anyone in the wake of their smoke.

While cigar smoking seems charming and sophisticated, this is the information on the National Cancer Institute website:

—Cigar smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers.

—There is no safe tobacco product, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. The more you smoke, the greater your risk of disease.

—Cigar smoking causes oral cavity cancers (cancers of the lip, tongue, mouth, and throat) and cancers of the larynx (voice box), esophagus, and lung.

—All cigar and cigarette smokers, whether or not they inhale, directly expose their lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and larynx to tobacco smoke and its toxic and cancer-causing chemicals.

An article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Shapiro, Jacobs, Thun, 1999) states:  “Results from this large prospective study support a strong association between cigar smoking and mortality from several types of cancer.”

I applaud Mr. Rosario’s commitment as an artisan.  I think the article about his cigar shop in our Bronx neighborhood is interesting. But I shudder to think of the number of people who have purchased cigars from him over the past 10 years who have been harmed and have harmed others with the toxic ingredients in the beautifully rolled and artfully designed cancer-causing tobacco.

Karel R. Amaranth, MPH, MA