Cigars safer than cigarettes?

You have probably heard that old saying that cigars are safer than cigarettes. I know my dad used to tell me that one when he took up cigar smoking. I don't think he ever smoked fancy cubans or makers mark cigars, all I remember is that they stunk. He gave up on the cigars, switched to a pipe for a few years then went back to cigarettes.

He died of the results of a triple by-pass, in fact only 6 weeks after the operation. The doctor told us that his lungs were clear and he had no signs of cancer anywhere but those years of smoking damaged his arteries and weakened his heart so much that he was having a hard time breathing.

So are cigars safer than cigarettes? If you asked my dad during his final days he would have said none of them are safe. I can also assure you that I have asthma now from breathing in his second hand smoke for 20 years.