Cigars versus Cigarettes

By admin

Good cigars have been trendy for over a dozen years now. This is another one of those fads that seem to have staying power. I for one am glad about it, as Papa Riah enjoys a nice Romeo and Julieta after a good meal (or sometimes just when kicking back in the outdoors) once in a while. I definitely consider them to be a life-enhancing product. Cigarettes on the other hand, have been a scourge upon society for almost a century.

If that sounds like a harsh statement, you must not be a smoker! Most cigarette smokers will agree in a heartbeat (those who have one left anyway) that they are a horrible plague upon the Earth and wish they never took their first puff. That’s quite a contrast to the way I feel about cigars. Cigar smokers tend to think happy thoughts about their chosen method of tobacco enjoyment, while cigarette smokers tend to swear the next smoke will be their last.

The difference in attitude towards the two products from their individual consumer groups is interesting, to say the least. To understand the reason behind it, you would need to think back to the 19th century before cigarettes became mainstream. Pipes and cigars were the tobacco products of old, and they had a different stigma about them. They were somehow dignified and respected, and the number of smokers who resembled a human chimney were quite a small percentage of tobacco users.

Even in the 1950’s many people smoked cigarettes only recreationally, after a meal perhaps or while enjoying cocktails. Think about the television show I Love Lucy. Do you consider Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel to be cigarette smokers? Certainly not by modern society standards, but on that show they all were. (This was before it was discovered that they kill you.) Notice how they didn’t have to have one at every work break or whenever they were driving.

There are two basic reasons that cigarettes have become a negative element in our culture:

1. People in modern society are gluttons. Consequently anything even mildly addictive will be abused as much as humanly possible.

2. People in modern society are oblivious. Especially cigarette smokers. Consequently smokers are in the habit of greatly inconveniencing non-smokers, even to the point of endangering their health.

Have you ever sat next to a smoker at a bar? If you have, chances are that you got to know their brand of smokes up close and personal as they held their cigarette in your face. After all they don’t want it in their face, so they hold it off to their side at head level - which is right smack in your eyes and nose. It’s absolutely amazing.

When I was younger I had an aunt that died of lung cancer. On her death bed my other aunt (her sister) held a cigarette up to her lips so she could get a few last puffs of the thing that killed her before she died. So she was loyal to her killer right to the end.

Cigars are not without health risks. President Grant, better known as General Grant, died from throat cancer as a result of his obsession with them. However most cigar smokers indulge in less than half a dozen stogies per month, if that many. And as a rule they are very courteous to non-smokers, seeking solitude in an outdoor area to enjoy their fine tobacco. Perhaps that is why (in their modern trendiness) cigars once again enjoy an image associated with a certain stigma.

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