# How Much Nicotine Is in a Black & Mild vs. a Cigarette?

> How much nicotine is in a Black & Mild? CDC tests found 7.88–9.86 mg per gram, about half a cigarette's, but the stick holds nearly 3x the tobacco.

By Liam Day · November 2, 2026

## Key takeaways

**No per-stick figure:** the maker doesn't list one, and lab studies report nicotine per gram instead.

**Per gram, less than a cigarette:** 7.88 to 9.86 mg/g, against a 19.2 mg/g cigarette average, in a [2017 CDC study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5628511/).

**Per stick, much more tobacco:** 3.097 g before smoking, against 1.075 g for a cigarette, in a [2015 lab study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/).

**Cigarette smokers inhale it:** blood nicotine rose about as much as after one cigarette in 2015, and less in a [2012 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3430445/) where people smoked part of the stick.

Neither the maker nor any lab study we found publishes the milligrams of nicotine in one Black & Mild. Labs measure it per gram instead: the [CDC's 2017 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5628511/) found 7.88 to 9.86 mg per gram. That's **about half** the 19.2 mg/g cigarette average; see each brand in our [cigarette nicotine chart by brand](/blog/amount-of-nicotine-in-a-cigarette-by-brand/).

The catch is size. In a [2015 lab study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/), an unsmoked Black & Mild weighed 3.097 g, **close to three times** the 1.075 g of a cigarette. So it holds less nicotine per gram, spread across a lot more tobacco.

BRST is a [2mg peppermint melt](/product/nicotinemelts/) that dissolves under the tongue. The rest of this page sticks to Black & Mild: what's in the tobacco, what reaches the blood, and whether people inhale it.

## How much nicotine is in a Black & Mild?

The most useful data come from three studies. The CDC tested the tobacco for nicotine. Two lab studies had smokers use a Black & Mild and their usual cigarette, then measured weight, puffs and blood nicotine.

Source: weights from [Koszowski et al., 2015](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/); per gram from the [CDC study by Lawler et al., 2017](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5628511/), where the cigarette figure is the 50-brand average. Per stick is the US average in [Kozlowski et al., 1998](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1751464/).

The CDC range covers eleven Black & Mild products sold in 2-packs and 5-packs. The cigarette in the Koszowski rows is whatever brand each smoker brought. The 10.2 mg cigarette figure comes from a [1998 Tobacco Control study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1751464/). It's the average nicotine in the tobacco of US brands, which ranged from 7.2 to 13.4 mg.

## Why per gram and per stick tell different stories

Black & Mild isn't made from cigarette tobacco. The [John Middleton Co.](https://www.johnmiddletonco.com/), the Altria company that makes it, says its cigarillos are a blend of air-cured and pipe tobaccos. In the CDC study, most Black & Mild packs carried a pipe tobacco cigar label.

That matters for the per-gram number. In the CDC study, pipe tobacco cigars had the lowest average of any product type.

Source: [CDC study by Lawler et al., 2017](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5628511/), average for each product type.

Weight pulls the other way. The [NCI's cigar fact sheet](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cigars-fact-sheet) (last reviewed in 2010) says a cigarillo holds about 3 grams of tobacco and a little cigar about 1 gram. Large cigars typically hold 5 to 20 grams.

So a per-gram number alone undersells what is in the stick. And a per-stick number, if one existed, would still not tell you what reaches your blood.

## How much nicotine reaches the blood

Two lab studies measured how much blood nicotine rose right after people smoked a Black & Mild or their usual cigarette. Blood nicotine is counted in ng/mL, billionths of a gram per milliliter of blood.

The studies also measured carbon monoxide (CO) in the breath, in parts per million (ppm), as a marker of how much smoke was drawn in.

Source: [Fabian et al., 2012](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3430445/), 12 daily smokers; [Koszowski et al., 2015](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/), 23 people who smoked both.

The two studies differ for a reason. In the [2012 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3430445/), people smoked only as much as they usually do, anywhere from 35% of the cigarillo to all of it. They saved the rest for later. Their blood nicotine rose significantly less than after a cigarette.

In the [2015 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/), the rise was similar for both products. Per gram of tobacco smoked, though, the cigarette delivered more: 38.3 ng/mL per gram against 14.4 for the cigarillo. The cigarillo also took about twice as long to smoke, 620 seconds against 315.

## Inhaling a Black & Mild: what the studies found

The lab studies say **most people inhaled it**. The 2015 authors concluded that people who smoke both products inhale cigarillo smoke just as they inhale cigarette smoke. The 2012 authors read the large CO rise the same way.

That runs against the common idea that cigars are puffed, not inhaled. The [NCI fact sheet](https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cigars-fact-sheet) says most cigar smokers do not inhale. It also says nicotine can still be absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

Smoke chemistry helps explain it. A [1999 study of 17 cigar brands](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11072397/) found that smoke from smaller cigars and cigarillos turned acidic after the first third. Larger cigars turned alkaline near the end.

Why that matters: you have to inhale **acidic smoke**, like cigarette smoke, to absorb much nicotine. **Alkaline smoke** can be absorbed in the mouth. That's how a [1998 NCI monograph chapter](https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/tcrb/monographs/9/m9_6.pdf) by the same research group explains it.

The CDC adds a caution for anyone who doesn't inhale. Its [2024 cigar page](https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/other-tobacco-products/cigars.html) says cigar smokers are exposed to nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals. That holds even for people who report they don't inhale.

## Is a Black & Mild a cigar or a cigarillo?

Both, depending on who is counting. The [FDA defines a cigar](https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/tobacco-products-ingredients-components/cigars-cigarillos-little-filtered-cigars) as a roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in a substance that contains tobacco. Cigarillos and little filtered cigars are the smaller end of that group.

The packs say **cigarillo**. The maker calls Black & Mild the second-best selling large machine-made cigar in the US, with about 1.8 billion sticks sold in 2025. The CDC researchers noted that the brand has been classed as both a cigarillo and a little cigar.

Whatever the name, the health line is the same. The FDA says cigars "are not a safe alternative to cigarettes," and the same wording appears as a Surgeon General warning on the maker's site. The CDC says regular cigar smoking can raise the risk of cancers of the mouth and throat.

## How Black & Mild compares with cigarette brands

Per gram, every cigarette brand in the CDC study held more nicotine than any Black & Mild product tested. Cigarettes ranged from 16.2 to 26.3 mg/g. Marlboro Red measured 20.3 mg/g ([nicotine in a Marlboro cigarette](/blog/nicotine-in-a-marlboro-cigarette/)), Camel Filters 19.4 mg/g ([Camel nicotine content](/blog/camel-nicotine-content/)).

Natural American Spirit was the highest cigarette, at 26.3 mg/g ([American Spirit nicotine content](/blog/american-spirit-nicotine-content/)). If you're wondering why a "light" cigarette can deliver close to a regular one, see [nicotine in light cigarettes](/blog/nicotine-is-in-a-light-cigarette/).

To line a tobacco product up against something labeled in milligrams, read [how 6 mg compares with cigarettes](/blog/6-mg-nicotine-equals-how-many-cigarettes/). Keep in mind that nicotine in the tobacco and nicotine in the blood are different numbers.

## FAQ

### How many mg of nicotine are in a Black & Mild?

Not published. The maker doesn't list it, and the studies we found report nicotine per gram, not per stick. The [CDC measured](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5628511/) 7.88 to 9.86 mg per gram of Black & Mild tobacco, and a [2015 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/) weighed one at 3.097 g before smoking. You may see far bigger per-stick figures online; we couldn't find a lab measurement behind them.

### Does a Black & Mild have more nicotine than a cigarette?

Per gram, no. Its tobacco measured 7.88 to 9.86 mg/g, against a cigarette average of 19.2 mg/g. But a Black & Mild weighs close to three times as much as a cigarette: 3.097 g vs. 1.075 g in a 2015 lab study. So the whole stick contains more tobacco.

### Do you inhale a Black & Mild?

In the lab studies, people who also smoke cigarettes did. The [2015 researchers](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4662635/) concluded they inhaled cigarillo smoke just as they inhaled cigarette smoke. The CDC says cigar smokers are exposed to nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals even when they report not inhaling.

### How many cigarettes equal one Black & Mild?

There's no published equivalence. In the 2015 study, blood nicotine rose 21.1 ng/mL after a Black & Mild and 24.5 after a cigarette. In the 2012 study, where people smoked only their usual portion, it rose 11 and 25 ng/mL.

### Who makes Black & Mild?

The John Middleton Co., which is owned by Altria. Its site describes the cigarillos as a blend of air-cured and pipe tobaccos. It calls Black & Mild the second-best selling large machine-made cigar in the US, and it gives no nicotine figures.

## A note from BRST

BRST is a [2mg peppermint melt](/product/nicotinemelts/) that dissolves under the tongue. It is not a cigarette, not a cigar, and not FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy.

To see how a melt differs from gum, lozenges and pouches, read [nicotine tablet vs. gum, lozenge and pouch](/blog/nicotine-tablet-vs-gum-lozenge-pouch/). Adults 21+. Nicotine is addictive.

Do you smoke a whole Black & Mild at once, or save part of it for later like the people in the 2012 study?