Jewish World Review

JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Young smokers are fueling latest boom in cigar sales

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) John Schnaedter enjoys a good cigar, say a flavorful Montecristo No. 5, while he's out on the town. Vincent Soda relishes the taste of a mild one, especially with a stiff drink. Justin Davis relaxes with his premium Ashton, savoring 45 minutes of red-hot pleasure.

None of these guys are stodgy, or grizzled, or old geezers. Schnaedter is 22; Soda and Davis 21.

Yet all of them are stogie smokers, part of a boomlet in young cigar aficionados.

"I think I do it for the look of it," said Schnaedter, a West Chester University political science major sporting earrings as he took a break from waiting tables at Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in West Chester, Pa. "It's classy."

According to industry magazine Smokeshop's most recent survey, 23 percent of cigar customers are 22 to 34 years old - marking an upturn after two years of decline among that age group. The youngsters outpuff 50- to 64-year-olds by a couple of percentage points, the survey found.

Cigar sales, in general, continue to rise. In 1993, 2.1 billion large cigars were consumed, according to federal figures cited by the Cigar Association of America, based in Washington. Nearly a decade later, consumption had doubled, to 4.2 billion large cigars in 2002.

During the mid-1990s, cigar chomping among the heralds of hip (meaning, 20-year-olds) ignited a craze - one marked by prices soaring and tobacco shops scrambling to keep up with demand. Celebrities chewing on cigars (Michael Jordan, Demi Moore, Arnold Schwarzenegger) helped stoke the frenzy.

"I had three humidors, the top brands," Michael Cugino, owner of his namesake newsstand in West Chester, said about the hundreds - if not thousands - of cigars he stocked during the boom times. "You still didn't have enough cigars. It's not what it was."

This time around, it's more of a slow burn, shop owners say.

The Wharton Cigar Club, started in 1995 by M.B.A.ers at the University of Pennsylvania, revived itself this last school year after a few slow years. Chester County Adult Night School's new class on "The Art of the Cigar" was sold out this spring. Young newbies looking for advice on what to try as a first "real" cigar - as opposed to the cheap ones from the corner convenience store - are filling cigar chat rooms.

And tobacconists are doing brisk business among Generation Xers even as antitobacco groups warn about dangers.

Donate to JWR

"We like to say we've picked up young professionals, whether they're professional or not," said a wry Sam Driban, owner of the Black Cat Cigar Co. in Center City here. "They are people who have dabbled, and now that they're on their own, they're starting to acquire some of the finer things in life. They go right for the good stuff."

Driban spoke as he chewed a cigar in his store during a recent "cigar tasting," where a representative from J.C. Newman Cigar Co. was handing out freebies.

The event brought out all manner of cigar lovers: suits, paunchy gray heads, and baseball-cap-wearing (backward, of course) Vincent Soda of South Philadelphia.

"I like to smoke when I drink," said Soda, on a short lunch break to get a stash of cigars. He surveyed boxes packed tightly on shelves, the pungent aroma of tobacco smoke hanging heavy in the air of the small, alley-sized store.

"I like the taste," he said, as he paid for four thick sticks, and hurried out the door.

While the majority of cigar smokers, of any age, are male, women are indulging, too.

"I like the sweeter flavors," said Melody Chaffin, 28, of Philadelphia, as she accepted a free La Unica.

Vince Oddo, 27, patronizes G&G Cigar Co. in West Chester, paying regular visits to the store's members-only "cigarden," a comfy lounge in the back of the store done in classic greens with plush leather chairs, a 32-inch television set, and stereo.

"I have a couple of close friends, and when we get together, we smoke cigars," said Oddo, a project manager for a construction company who lives in Parkesburg, Chester County. "It's the social thing."

Doug Gianforte, one of the "G's" at G&G, taught "The Art of the Cigar" class, explaining the finer points of making a cigar, from "seed to store."

Most of his 13 students fit the middle-age expanse. But a few were young guys, he said. "They're trying to get a taste for the good life. They can have a microbrew beer or single malt and have a cigar with it."

Justin Davis of Washington Township, N.J., began experimenting with bargain brands when he was a senior in high school. Now, a senior at St. Joseph's University, he prefers premium brands, such as Ashton's Double Magnum, running around $9 apiece.

"When I have the money, I might smoke once a week," said Davis, who adds that he has never touched a cigarette. "There's something more relaxed and enjoyable to smoking a cigar."

Antitobacco groups, however, decry the habit.

"Cigars have all the health risks of cigarettes," said Lyndon Haviland, head of the American Legacy Foundation that was established in 1999 as a result of a national tobacco settlement. "There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. There is no such thing as a safe cigar."

A foundation report issued this year noted that about 40 percent of high schoolers and 19 percent of middle schoolers have tried cigars. "We're deeply concerned about the whole issue of positioning cigars as something glamorous," Haviland said.

Regular cigar smokers who inhale are at risk for coronary heart disease, lung disease and cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many young cigar smokers say they know the risks, but light up anyway.

"My mom likes to point that out to me," Davis said. "I don't worry too much because it's not something I do all the time."

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


Comment by clicking here.

Up

© 2003, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services