Trying to Quit Smoking Cigarettes

We have talked about cigar being a “healthier” version of smoking, so looking at the information we might be able to conclude that cigars could be a good transition from cigarettes to quitting.  One reason smoking cigars has become so intriguing is due to the culture and process that surrounds them.  You could use the ritual of lighting and enjoying the cigar as a step down off cigarettes.  Now let me clarify something first, this is a hypothesis.  I have never smoked cigarettes and have never tried to quit them, just thought of this through the facts presented.

We will start with the fact that tobacco leaves have nicotine in them, where do you think then get it from.  Cigarette companies gather and compound the nicotine from the leaves and add it to their products, making them more addictive.  Concluding that cigarettes have more nicotine then cigars.  Cigars do have nicotine, just not a lot.  This leads me to my first point, by smoking less cigarettes and smoking more cigars, you will be weaning off the nicotine while still getting your fix.

My next thought is the process and procedure of smoking a cigar.  Your just done light it, puff a few times and pitch it.  It takes a few min to light it evenly without ruining the taste.  Follow that with smoking the stick over a period of one to three hours.  Keep in mind the fact that puffing a cigar needs to be spread out over time, smoking it too fast will make it burn too hot which will trash all the complicated flavors of the cigar.

This is just one hypothesis and I would like to hear other people’s thoughts about it, so what do you thing?  On paper it should work but will it be strong enough to fight that compounded nicotine addiction?  You tell me…

Modifying Your Lighter

This is what the box looks like.

You see this Zippo lighter at the store and it looks cool, the one you have been looking for but you remember that lighter fluid will taint the taste of that decadent cigar that’s sitting at home waiting for you.  What will you do?  You can pimp the lighter.  It’s called a Z-plus Torch Insert, it’s a butane insert designed to fit into Zippo lighter while keeping that feel, look, and style that all Zippos have.  Best of all it’s installation takes no time.

To switch them out simple pull out the Zippo stock insert by firmly pulling, there is no switch or button just grip it and rip it.  Next adjust the flame height of the Z-Plus Insert, located on the bottom of the insert.  Once desired height has been fixed simply fill it with butane and slid it in.  These inserts are only $6 or $7 right now on amazon, but can be priced as high a $20, which is what I paid for it.  Now you can have the lighter of your dreams and use it too.

Cigars and Cigarettes

They both have tobacco and are cylinder shaped, those are the only similarities between a cigar and a cigarette.  If looking at theses two tobacco stick from a natural standpoint, cigars are healthier.  Cigars are 100% all natural tobacco or closes enough to say, while cigarettes have a list of odd and deadly ingredients.  Add that fact that cigars have such a low level of Nicotine that they aren’t anywhere close to the addictive power of cigarettes.  So if your wife, girlfriend, or parents want you to quick smoking then stick a log of pure, rolled tobacco leaf  in your mouth and light up.

Now that you have come to the light lets make sure you are smoking it right.  Do not tap or shake or anything else to the cigar, you want the cherry and the ash on the cigar.  The ash will help it burn evenly and keeps the temperature under control.  Let the ash fall off when it’s ready.

Just let the ash lie

Another tip to remember is how often to puff it.  I know that taste way better when you light it correctly (view other Humidor posts) and when you look at the stick, you become inspired to go to town on it but don’t.  Keeping the temperature controlled is key.  The more puff taken from it, the more air cycling through the cigar.  This increase in air raises the temperature of the cigar which burns the tobacco leafs destroying the flavor.  So take deep puffs and let it sit for 30 sec to a min, this gives it a chance to cool down allowing it  to find that perfect smoking temperature.

Remember these tips next time your on the golf course or at a bar, or just in a hot tub with a beer.  These simple changes will increase the pleaser while making you look good in front of your friends.

Lighting a Cigar

What is a simple way to celebrate the birth of a child, or your wedding, or golfing with friends?  Cigars are simple forms of celebration that bring friends together in a very masculine way.  If these celebration sticks are used for important occasions, wouldn’t you want to get the most from the purchase and experience?  One thing people forgot about cigars is that they are not cigarettes, they don’t smoke like cigarettes and they don’t taste like cigarettes, so don’t light them like cigarettes.  When lighting a cigarette people will simply put any flame up to the tip and boom, it’s lit; cigars are much different.  Before you light the joy stick let’s first talk about the thought companies go through to make that cigar.

Cigar companies like CAO, Romeo y Julieta, Oliva, and Perdomo put years of thought and design into one cigar.  First they think of the flavors the cigar will incorporate, is it going to be new and bold or a tribute to an old line, will it start off bold then go smooth or vice versa.  When looking at the inside of a cigar, one could see many layers of leaves.  Each layer was chosen for a reason due to its specific flavor.  Each layer could be a completely different leaf from a different plant, from a different year, from a different country.   Companies hold leaves leftover from their plants just incase the flavor they have will enhance a future line.  Knowing the details of each cigar is a little overkill for someone who has one or two a year, but understanding the amount of thought and consideration in each stick will not only impress your friends but help enhance the experience of the smoke.

Now that we have an understanding for the work put into a cigar, why would someone simply fling up a lighter and destroy the careful design of the stick.  There are different ways to light cigars but one method of doing it.  If the cigar gets lit to fast or lit wrong, the designed flavor will develop a burnt taste and the whole stick is ruined. There is a better way to light one that will preserve the desired flavor.

Lighting it at 45º angle helps distribute the heat evenly around the cigar butt.

After properly cutting the head, hold the cigar at a 45º angle (cut end up) placing the flame about an inch under the cigar.  The heat from the flame will warm up the end, preventing it from becoming scorched.  Rolling the cigar in your hand to develop a uniform heat across the entire cigar tip then move the cigar closer to the flame, close enough where the tip of the flame dances on the cigar but doesn’t touch it.  Keep rolling the cigar and you’ll see that beautiful deep orange glow engulfing the end of the cigar.  Keep in mind, we have not put the cigar in our mouths yet, this is the time to do so.  Do not suck in but exhale, blow out through the cigar.  This will emit any burnt flavor that the lighting might have made.

Now draw in a good puff and enjoy.  After having many different cigars and deciding that they all taste similar, give this classic lighting method a try.  When I light it the right way, cigars developed a whole new depth of flavor that I wasn’t getting before.  Give it a try, taste the hard work these skilled companies put into their trade.

Works Cited:

Shanken, Marvin R.  Cigar Aficionado’s Buying Guide to Premium Cigars (3rd ed.).   New York, NY.  M. Shanken Communications, Inc.  1997

Scott Dale.  “Smocking Tips.”  StogieFresh.com. April 23rd 2008.  <www.stogiefresh.com>