The death of the Cigar?

Cigars have long been seen as a luxury item, smoked by the rich in smoking rooms, discussing important matters after dinner or to celebrate occasions such as the birth of a baby. Cigars are enjoyed in a different way to a regular cigarette with more focus on the flavour than the nicotine hit. Many cigar smokers don't take the smoke into their lungs, instead they swirl the smoke in their mouth before exhaling, while others exhale the smoke through their nose in order to smell the cigar. Recently however, it seems that cigars have developed a bit of a reputation as being a product used by older people and are seen as 'uncool'. This reputation has contributed to the sale of cigars dropping over the last 20 years by a staggering 80%. In 1992, 2.1 million kg of cigars were purchased in Britain, however last year sales fell to just 400,000 kg. If sales of cigars continue to fall at this rate, it is estimated that cigars could disappear completely by 2026. Other suspected reasons for the drop in sales are the UK smoking ban and the increasingly high tobacco duty. If these reasons are stopping you from buying a cigar, why not consider an e cigar? E Cigars provide the same great flavour however because they contain no tobacco there is no tobacco duty and because they aren't lit, they aren't included in the UK smoking ban. So lets get retro (but with a modern twist!). Who has smoked cigars? Many of the greatest names in history smoked cigars, including: Winston Churchill - Famous for dunking his cigar in port wine or brandy (please don't try this with an e cigar though), Winston Churchill was rarely seen without a cigar in his hand during his time as British prime minister. Rudyard Kipling - In his poem 'The Betrothed', Kipling writes of a mans choice between his spouse and a cigar, stating 'A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke; And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke'. Mark Twain - The Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer author is one of the world's most famous cigar smokers, smoking up to 22 cigars a day (although other sources have placed the figure as high as 40 cigars a day!). Such was Twain's love of cigars that he stated "I smoke with all my might, and allow no intervals" and "If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go". If you're ready to have your first cigar experience, why not check out the Litejoy e cigar. Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane/FreeDigitalPhotos.net