The sweet-smelling smoke swirling out of increasingly popular clove cigarettes isn’t such a sweet deal, health experts said.A growing number of students smoke clove cigarettes instead of regular cigarettes because of the sweeter smell and taste, said Stephenie Core, an employee at Tobacco Outlet in Ames. “They’re something different that’s not always available everywhere,” she said.Marc Shulman, staff physician at the Student Health Center, said students smoke clove cigarettes because of their novelty. He said clove cigarettes contain about 60 to 70 percent tobacco, and the nicotine and second-hand smoke are as harmful as in regular cigarettes. Shulman said cloves have no filters or governmental regulations, and they are held long and inhaled deeply. He said smoking them can lead to hospitalization in some cases.Whether it’s because of a slightly lower price, a more appealing taste and smell sensation or simply because of the novelty, clove-cigarette smoking is a trend that goes in cycles, Shulman said. He said last time cloves were really popular was the mid-’80s, but it “appears that they’re becoming popular again.”Shulman said the main attraction to cloves is a sensation in the mouth different from a regular cigarette, but not enough people realize the negative effects of clove cigarettes.Core, who said she used to smoke cloves, said she didn’t think they were as addictive or as dangerous as regular cigarettes, or that they contained a high percentage of tobacco.She said the cloves have sold pretty well in the seven months she’s worked at Tobacco Outlet. The clove cigarettes look similar to a regular cigarette, but they are wrapped in black paper, Core said. Clove cigarettes cost $3.29 for a pack of 20, a nickel more than a pack of 20 regular cigarettes, she said.Cloves haven’t always been as available as cigarettes in Ames, Core said. She said she used to drive out of the area to get them, and for a while, Tobacco Outlet was the only place in Ames that sold them.Peter Gudlewski, senior in music, said he’s never had a problem getting clove cigarettes when he wants them.”Usually, they were offered to me by someone else, and I just would take them,” he said. Although Gudlewski said he doesn’t smoke cloves on a regular basis, he said he enjoys their flavor.Shulman’s said his concern for clove smokers’ health grows along with the popularity. “I would not recommend people to use them as a substitute for cigarettes,” he said. “They’re just as dangerous.”