Cigars and bad breath: what can be done about it?

A cigar is smoked over a long stretch of time, and that time is set aside deliberately. All cigar smokers nevertheless agree that the biggest drawback is the breath that follows. So how do you get rid of it? Here are a few tips.

What cigar mouth (or cigar breath) is

Whatever a smoker makes of the cigar itself, the taste it leaves in the mouth a few minutes later is far less welcome. Depending on the type of cigar smoked, your breath will be more or less heavily loaded. The harsher the cigar, the more poorly it has been kept or the younger it is, the more you are likely to pay the price. Americans now readily talk about “cigar mouth” or “cigar breath” to describe the breath that follows a cigar.

There are a few basic points to keep in mind to avoid cigar-related bad breath. Seasoned smokers already know these tips, such as not smoking on an empty stomach or when hungry and, above all, smoking slowly. That already avoids nausea, and it stops the cigar from heating too quickly and thereby increasing the deposits of chemical compounds in your mouth.

The best tips for avoiding bad breath after a cigar

The measures are often very simple and above all very logical, but they are not always the first thing that comes to mind. Drinking, for instance, rinses the mucous membranes and so avoids a furred mouth. Eating while you smoke is another way of counterbalancing the fumes.

Cigar experts also know that smoking a cigar right to the end is not advisable. It is often in the last third that the strongest aromas, the ones responsible for bad breath, are concentrated. Nothing, however, beats a mouthwash together with a thorough brushing of the teeth afterwards. If you also like parsley or lemon, do make use of them, but take care of your teeth with the latter: it tends to attack the enamel.