Expert: James Yee - 11/28/2009

Question
Mr. Yee,
I recently (and accidently) smoked about one and a half cigars (in one night) that I knew were at least two years old and had been in a humidor in my house. I knew the humidor was not functional. I also knew that a couple of the cigars in the humidor were severely moist and soft. I am by no means a person who smokes cigars regularly and had no idea that mold could even grow on them. I noticed a blue/green coloration on some of the cigars in the humidor. The cigars I smoked were wrapped in the plastic they were packaged in, and him not even sure they blue green specks were on them. My question is, if that was mold should I be worried and go get checked out by my doctor for a possible mold infection of some kind? I have not been sick, or committed as you described in one of your answers. The cigars I smoked looked, smelled, and felt fine. As I said the specks were bluish green and when I tried to wipe them off, they did not come off.

Thank you for your help!
Thomas

Answer
Hi Thomas,

If the green spots on the cigar did not rub off, it most likely wasn't mold but instead, was natural green spots on the tobacco leaves or a stain from a previous mold outbreak.  Tobacco mold will resemble mold that you would find on spoiled food; it's fuzzy, thick in appearance and grows in random patches that quickly spreads.  If you look at mold through a microscope, a mold particle will have a long, tubular body and a mushroom cap-like head.  Cigar mold can also be rubbed off of a cigar and will leave behind a discolourated stain.  In most cases, inhaling cigar mold is not fatal (unless you have a severe allergy to mold) but you may experience some coughing as mold is a respiratory irritant.  If you feel fine now, I don't think you need to see a doctor.  If however, you suddenly feel sick or a severe cough develops within the next few days, it's best to see your doctor.

Hopes this helps.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James