As for why the nicotine can enter your body so quickly, the answer I have was found in this article (thank gettysburgfreak for finding it). It says that the smoke from cigars is more alkaline than from cigarettes, this alkalinity allows for more rapid absorption of the nicotine through the membranes in the mouth. No need to inhale, and still get the nic like you would from inhaling a cigarette.
Here is the link if you wanna read it:
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb...phs/9/m9_1.PDF