Mold on the foot

[HoyoFan]

How do you all feel about this? I’ve heard that just wiping off mold is usually fine but the foot is another story since you might be inhaling it when you light the cigar.

 

Any recommendations for treatment? Or do you toss the stick?

Thanks!

[smbauerllc]

General practice seems to be just cutting back on the foot until no mold is visible anymore, then smoke away.

Have personally only ever had a few small spots of mold on any cigars in 15. Years, and never on the foot, so haven't personally tried cutting it back.

Makes sense and seems like it would work fine though

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[99call]

51 minutes ago, HoyoFan said:

How do you all feel about this?

I don't like it.   I've never experienced it in cigars I've personally aged myself (thank god) but I have seen the odd cigar in mixed aged boxes I've bought.  I've cut open afflicted cigars, and it's been quite shocking to see how mold can easily travel up and into the entire cigar.   

For me my approach to mold is simple

1 - light mold on the wrapper, not on the foot, not determinable smell of mold on the cigar or box,  no problem wipe off,  all is well

2 - mold with any green hue, or heavy mold, or mold visible on the foot, or determinable by a dank smell of mold either on the box, or on the cigar..............no thanks i'll pass

[smbauerllc]

@99call

Good info

Interesting that you have dissected and examined some with mold on the foot.

Most say just to trim it until you can't see any mold, but based on your examination results, its logical there could still be mold inside that just isn't visible on the foot.

Would definitely not want to smoke mold with my chronic pneumonia, copd, and severe asthma. Could be a serious issue for me.

Just spent 4 days in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator due to mild pneumonia setting off my asthma badly, so mold could be a serious problem.

Will take your opinion to not smoke one with mold in the foot. Fortunately I have never had any mold anywhere except for spots on the body

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[99call]

2 minutes ago, smbauerllc said:

Will take your opinion to not smoke one with mold in the foot. Fortunately I have never had any mold anywhere except for spots on the body

Yeah, I think it can be quite deceptive.  I think anything like mold, fungal spores etc can show signs of itself in one spot, nothing in another. 

It was interesting in the cigar i opened up,   the internal growths were intermittent with blank patches of filler were there was nothing to be seen, but this mixture of affected and non affected areas continued all the way up a Churchill sized cigar. 

yep, if in doubt,  stay safe

[smbauerllc]

Yeah, I think it can be quite deceptive.  I think anything like mold, fungal spores etc can show signs of itself in one spot, nothing in another. 
It was interesting in the cigar i opened up,   the internal growths were intermittent with blank patches of filler were there was nothing to be seen, but this mixture of affected and non affected areas continued all the way up a Churchill sized cigar. 
yep, if in doubt,  stay safe

Very interesting and excellent advice based on a very well examined example.

I certainly won't be smoking anything with mold on the foot for sure

Thanks for the good advice based on solid facts

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[Edicion]

1 hour ago, HoyoFan said:

 

How do you all feel about this? I’ve heard that just wiping off mold is usually fine but the foot is another story since you might be inhaling it when you light the cigar.

 

Any recommendations for treatment? Or do you toss the stick?

Thanks!

 

You'll hear different opinions on this depending who you ask. Personally, I would throw the cigars away. Not worth the risk for me. 

[Tstew75]

Mold on foot = automatic toss

[Meesterjojo]

9 hours ago, Tstew75 said:

Mold on foot = automatic toss

Without hesitation. This.

 

I take it to an extreme and if I find mold anywhere I toss it. Granted, I don't keep $50 cigars around, but I've tossed several in the $30 range when I got back into this. I don't play with my health...other than smoking cigars and driving at high speeds through the fort davis mountains at night.

[Monterey]

12 hours ago, smbauerllc said:

General practice seems to be just cutting back on the foot until no mold is visible anymore, then smoke away.


 

Not general practice.  Bad practice!  Toss!

[riderpride]

Toss it or call Drs Ebonie, Sarah, or Brad

[ATGroom]

The standard answer is definitely "mould on the foot it should be tossed", although I don't think there is any actual basis to this beyond "it's just common knowledge"

As far as I know, nobody has done any study on the extent to which the spores of the common fungal varieties that occur in cigars are harmful when inhaled, especially after being combusted at the temperature of a cigar coal.

Would love to see some kind of actual research into it.

I suspect you'd probably be fine. I probably wouldn't do an unlit draw test, but unless it was really seriously mouldy, I don't think it'd even have much of an effect on the taste. 

I'd test it myself, but I don't have mouldy cigars.

Not a doctor. Not medical advice.