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igar smoking enjoys significant rise in popularity among college students
BY SUSAN OVERCASH
The Battalion
F rom lounge lizards in the ’70s to Mon
ica Lewinsky in the '90s, enjoying a fine
cigar has become more popular and
more troublesome throughout the years. The
ins and outs of cigar smoking may be more
than a smoker has bargained for.
For a novice smoker, discerning the qual
ity of a cigar may be difficult. Vanessa Hilde
brand, co-owner of Little Havana Cigar Com
pany, said the area in which tobacco leaves
are grown affects the flavor and quality of
the cigar. Most tobacco leaves are grown in
South American countries, such as
Nicaragua, Honduras and Cuba.
“Basically, tobacco leaves are grown and
fermented like fine wine,” Hildebrand said.
“The quality of a cigar is based upon the en
vironment which it is grown, what the
weather is like. For example, Honduras and
Nicaragua had heavy rains this year and
years of fermented fields and leaves are
gone. There’ll be a shortage of those, and it
could take years for those countries to recu
perate. ”
A premium cigar consists of filler leaves,
a binder and a wrapper. The filler leaves can
be either intact or in pieces, and are chosen
for the aroma and burning quality. The
wrapper leaf is a full tobacco leaf tied around
the filler leaves to form a “bunch.” This
bunch is then bound with a binder leaf. The
binder leaf dresses the cigar and is chosen
based on appearance.
Cigars may be hand-rolled or machine-
wrapped, which may also contribute to the
quality of the cigar. Hildebrand said the
wrapping procedure may create some in
consistencies in cigar quality.
“Sometimes, if they're hand wrapped,
they are wrapped too tightly,” Hildebrand
GUY ROGERS/Tm Battalion
said. “If they’re wrapped too tightly, [the cig
ar] can be hard to [inhale].”
Hildebrand said judging the quality of a
cigar can be based on the smell, color and
texture of the cigar. Cigar color can range
from pale green to black. Most cigars are be
tween a pale and dark brown color.
“Look at the color of the tobacco leaf on
the outside,” Hildebrand said. “Also, the cig
ar shouldn’t be stale or stiff. It should be nice
and soft and kept at 71 percent humidity.
Also, the smell can be spicy or woody.”
Hal Bettis, a senior petroleum engineer
ing major, said he uses a trial-and-error strat
egy when choosing a cigar.
“1 just try them, and if I like them, I
smoke [them],” Bettis said. “I have to say I
look for a smooth but not harsh flavor — my
favorite brand is Monte Cristo.”
Cigar smoke is usually not inhaled into
the respiratory tract but instead tasted on the
smoker’s palate and then exhaled. However,
Bryan Coldwell, associate professor of
Health Education and tobacco researcher,
said this does not make smoking cigars a
safe alternative to cigarettes or other forms
of nicotine.
“Cigar smoking may be trendy, but it still
has some serious negative health effects,”
Coldwell said.
The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI)
1998 monograph, “Cigars: Health Effects
and TVends,” said cigars have been linked to
many of the same diseases as cigarettes, in
cluding increased risk of coronary heart dis
ease, lung, laryngeal, oral and esophogal
cancer.
However, the article also said cigar sales
in the United States have increased by 50
percent since 1993. Coldwell and the NCI
monograph agree this upward swing is
mainly due to new marketing approaches
which link cigar smoking to wealth and suc
cess, including the increasing use of cigars
in movies and by celebrities.
“Look at the movies now, like Indepen
dence Day — which was basically a multi
million dollar cigar advertisement,” Cold-
well said. “It’s saying you can’t celebrate
without a cigar. Those kind of things have
changed the image of the cigar from this
lower-class guy chewing on a nasty cigar
stub to it being suave.”
The NCI monograph shows that cigar
use increases in proportion to income
among adult males in California —- from
around 4 percent of males with income less
than $10,000 to over 14 percent of males
earning over $75,000.
According to the NCI, large numbers of
adolescents are currently being exposed to
cigar smoking. Bettis said his father also
smokes cigars.
“My dad smokes one a day,” Bettis said.
“1 just tried one one day and liked it. I
smoke probably every two weeks, because
they taste good.”
Coldwell said cigar smoking is filtering
into high schools.
“This is a way for them to look cool and
trendy,” said Coldwell. “They’re grabbing
at cigars.”
Hildebrand admits there may be nega
tive side effects to smoking cigars at any
age.
“Even though the smoke isn’t inhaled,
the tobacco still goes through the lining of
the mouth, and you still get that kick of
nicotine,” she said.
Bettis said although he knew the effects
of smoking cigars, he was unconcerned be
cause he smoked in moderation. Coldwell,
however, took a different view.
“It’s really frustrating to see people who
are supposed to be intelligent picking up
such a nasty habit,” Coldwell said.
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