information:filtering, structural:expansion, information:classification
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or a herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, different smoking method, and paper wrapping, which is typically white.

There are significant negative health effects from smoking cigarettes such as cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, birth defects, and other health problems relating to nearly every organ of the body. Most modern cigarettes are filtered, although this does not make the smoke inhaled from them contain fewer carcinogens and harmful chemicals. Nicotine, the psychoactive drug in tobacco, makes cigarettes highly addictive. About half of cigarette smokers die of tobacco-related disease and lose on average 14 years of life. Every year, cigarette smoking causes more than 8 million deaths worldwide; more than 1.3 million of these are non-smokers dying as the result of exposure to secondhand smoke. These harmful effects have led to legislation that has prohibited smoking in many workplaces and public areas, regulated marketing and purchasing age of tobacco, and levied taxes to discourage cigarette use.

In the 21st century, a product called an electronic cigarette (also called an e-cigarette or vape) was developed, in which the substance contained within it (typically a liquid solution containing nicotine) is vaporized by a battery-powered heating element, as opposed to being burned. Such devices are commonly promoted by their manufacturers as safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes, although there are some health risks associated with their use. Since e-cigarettes are a relatively new product, scientists do not possess data on their possible long-term health effects.