If you read the papers or watch television, you’re bound to think that smoking of any kind is losing its popularity and that may well hold true for cigarette smoking. There’s no doubt that cigarettes have some serious health issues and the anti-smoking lobby is really pushing those issues to the fore.
While cigar smokers may only make up a relatively small proportion of smokers overall you would still expect that any decline in the numbers of people smoking cigars would be a trophy figure that the anti-smoking lobby would want to push. However we don’t hear or see anything about the declining number of cigar smokers and that could just be due to the fact that cigar smoking is becoming really popular once more.
A Little History
The popularity of cigar smoking has waxed and waned over the hundreds of years since the first tobacco was brought back from the New World and for a period of time it was really only a pastime that people from the higher echelons of society could afford to enjoy. It also happened to be a pastime that both men and women enjoyed.
Even as recently as the middle years of last century cigar smoking was not something that your average middle class smoker indulged in and at that time women were rarely seen with a cigar in their hand. However in the last 10 years or so cigar smoking has definitely become more popular and more available to a wider cross-section of society and once again women have taken up cigar smoking.
It’s Social
I guess that one reason for the increase in popularity is because of the health risks that are associated with cigarette smoking. Another reason that cigar smoking is increasing in popularity is because more and more people have discovered just how much pleasure they can enjoy from smoking a good cigar and they have used modern networking systems such as the Internet to find others who enjoy a good cigar and share their pleasure.
The Internet has also allowed those of us who enjoy a good cigar to tell others about the pleasures of cigar smoking and even help them avoid some of the pitfalls that can turn a beginner off. When a newcomer can easily find information online about storing cigars, which cigars are worth buying and which ones should be avoided they are far more likely to go on to become regular cigar smokers.
And of course, the rise in popularity of smoking clubs and loose-knit groups that develop around many cigar stores certainly encourage people to try cigars and enjoy the camaraderie that goes with the territory. Cigar dinners … complete with carefully crafted menus that include food and drinks that will complement, and be complemented by, the cigars that are also carefully chosen are also becoming popular as are cigar parties and cigar bars.
So it’s no wonder that cigars are becoming popular in a group setting but they’re also becoming popular in a more solitary setting too. More and more people are discovering that nothing beats a good cigar after dinner … and it doesn’t have to be some special dinner either. Just your ordinary, every-day, final meal for the day can be the prelude for a fine cigar and it always goes well with a fine port.
Personally there’s nothing I like better than to sit down at the end of the day and let the stresses of the day slip away as I enjoy a fine cigar and a good book. It’s one of the most pleasant and relaxing ways to end a day that I know of and I’m not the only one. Many of my cigar-smoking friends are finding it a great way to unwind after a hectic day too.
Try it; you’ll like it as much as we do
When you have something that offers all the benefits that smoking a cigar does then it shouldn’t come as any surprise that cigar smoking is gaining in popularity.
There’s the camaraderie of a shared enjoyment and that can bring people together from all over the world. There’s the fun and shared pleasure that can be had when you get your friends together for a cigar dinner or party and nothing beats a cigar bar for meeting new friends who already share an interest with you.
Finally there’s that stress release that always comes when you sit back after dinner with a fine cigar and an equally fine drink and contemplate the world around you or lose yourself in the images conjured up from the pages of a good book.
It’s certainly something that everyone … male and female … should consider and if you’re wondering whether or not to take up cigar smoking then come on and join us and enjoy all the fine things that cigar smoking has to offer and the new friends that you will meet too. You certainly won’t be disappointed.
Cigar Smoking Etiquette
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