Dear Dr Bob

First off I would like to say that you are a marvel and this is a fantastic website you are helping a great many people.

I have two quick questions about sharing cigarettes.

1, If a person gave me one of their cigarettes and I smoked it what are the chances of me catching hiv if I smoked the cigarette as soon as they handed it over and perhaps the person who gave the cigarette had cuts on their fingers and I had cut and chapped lips. Or if it was a rolled cigarette that the person had just rolled and they had cuts on their hands and me smoking it straight away with cut and chapped lips?

2, If I am with someone who is smoking a cigarette and we are passing it between us, they take a drag and then straight away I take one what are the chances of getting hiv if we both have cut and chapped lips?

Thanks for all the support through the years

Best wishes,

ex-cigarette smoker.

Hi,

So the cigarette was just rolled and you are passing it between you . . . . OK, now just what kind of cigarette was this and did you get the munchies shortly afterward?

There is no HIV risk from sharing "cigarettes," even if you happen to be sharing them with members of The Grateful Dead. However, if these are really "tobacco" cigarettes, they do carry significant non-HIV health risks, and I would suggest you consider putting other things in your mouth instead.

Stay well.

Dr. Bob