Cigars and Cigarettes

[jackohalloran]

Ran into an old friend the other day who was an avid cigarette smoker but now he has switched to cigars. It got me thinking if any FOH's have made the complete change over to cigars from cigarettes?

I personally have never smoked cigarettes as i find them disgusting, they taste bad they smell bad and do nothing for me.

So just wondering if you smoke both or used to smoke cigarettes, or like me find them nasty.

[Ellery]

I use to smoke about a pack a day. Enjoyed the idea of smoking, but not necessarily cigarettes, that let med to pipes, hooka...but those never really worked out, and one day just picked up cigars instead. Thats when I realized that cigar smoking is much more than just smoking cigars, its about camaraderie, friendship, and good times. And plus I don't run out of breath easily, and my clothes dont stink

[jjdolphin]

I am cigarette free 15 1/2 years. While I smoked...have to be honest...I loved it. Didn't like what it was doing to my wallet since I was about a two pack a day guy. However, the first cigarette with coffee, or the cigarette after a full dinner...was fantastic. Beer and cigarettes. Sex and cigarettes...well not during. When you are alone...smoke a cigarette. When you are pissed off...smoke a cigarette. When you are depressed...smoke a cigarette and drink beer. When you are happy and are celebrating...you get the picture.

I stopped because it was getting too expensive and all of a sudden a flight of stairs called for a lung transplant. I didn't start cigars up until 2-3 years ago. Didn't know if picking up a cigar would make me want a cigarette again, but thankfully it has not. The cigar experience is completely different, as Ellary above mentions, camaraderie, friendship, and good times. (Alas, not a step down on the cost curve though)

All that being said, when I sit next to a smoker and he/she lights up the cigarette and the first whiff of the first smoke gets to my senses.....mmm

[LeafLover]

Stopped cigarettes a couple of years ago when cigar consumption went up to 1-2x daily. The flavor of cigars has made the flavor of cigarettes completely unsavory.

[CanuckSARTech]

Used to smoke. Was introduced to cigars while I smoked. Dabbled in cigars for a while. Stepped away from everything in 2002, when I quit smoking. Started cigars again after a few years, when I didn't have to worry about the "urge" for smoking cigarettes. Night and day difference - one has a cornucopia of tastes, the other tastes like ash. One's about flavours and enjoyment, the other is about feeding a chemical addiction. Huge difference.

I think/feel though, that those who make a "switch" from cigarettes to cigars, and still fully inhale then with the cigars, are not doing it for the right reasons, and are doing more harm than good - the stronger smoke can/maybe only increase exponentially the addiction to nicotine. Just my opinion.

[jjdolphin]

The first thing an ex-smoker will tell you "wow I can taste things now". You open yourself to a new world of food and drink. The cigarette does a number on your taste buds, so once you do give them up and find your way to cigars, you never go back. The cigar is full of flavors, while as said before, the cigarette is ash and smoke. Two different experiences.

I tried inhaling a cigar while I was a smoker, not an enjoyable experience. I do not understand how a smoker can get past the lung ripping and decide to do it again.

[Puros Y Vino]

I never got the cigarette bug. Hung out with a lot of people that did but I never cared for it. One thing that always turned me off was the smell of cigarettes butted out into empty Styrofoam coffee cups. That was enough reason to shun them. Ironically one of my longtime cigarette smoking friends dabbled in cigars and got me started three years ago. I now get "smokers rights". But to be honest, I'd toss cigarette smoking under to bus to keep the right to light up a cigar. Those things aren't even natural.

[mazolaman]

I started with the more exotic "herbal cigarettes",which I thouroughly enjoyed for 10 years,then on to fags,which are bloody horrible,gave all those up and found I enjoyed the pleasure of smoking a good Cuban....as previously mentioned,cigarettes are awfull,and it's the only thing I regret smoking.

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

I tried a few cigarettes many years ago. They didn't do anything for me. To this day, I can't understand how anyone could possibly like those vile, disgusting, nasty, horrible bits of tobacco degraded by the addition of nasty chemicals covered in bleached paper. Coffin nails and cancer sticks they certainly are...and the ghastly stench they leave behind. Then I was introduced to cigars - a totally different experience, and have never looked back. The "we-know-what's-good-for-your-health" campaigners in their anti-smoking crusade equate us with nicotine addicts, so, because of their ignorance, we have to pay the price in losing facilities where we were able to sit back, relax and light up fine Havanas.

[samb]

I smoked for about 6 yrs before i finally gave them up. I was into cigars for a couple of those years, but in no way as in depth as i am now. Glad I quit, but I crave one just about everyday, it sucks!!

[anacostiakat]

I had the measles as a kid (I think) and with both of my parents ciggie smokers the smoke bothered my eyes. So even after I recovered I didnt like it and never picked up the habit.

[hddeucebrad01]

Smoked cigarettes for almost 20 years and quit in Jan 99. I quit mainly because of the price. My wife's boss gave me a box of cigars for xmas in 06 and I became addicted to a new hobbie/pleasure.

[Rogers72]

I smoked cigarettes "socially" for a few years but it just stopped being cool 5 or 10 yrs ago and everyone that i bummed cigs from was quitting so naturally i quit too. After getting married and giving up the partying all night, I started smoking cigars regularly. I had smoked them occasionally before but it became somewhat of a ritual about 5 years ago. I still look at cigars as somewhat of a special treat for me. I typically have 3 or so per week and it is almost exclusively at nightime when I am unwinding with a drink.

[coneatty]

I smoked for about 6 yrs before i finally gave them up. I was into cigars for a couple of those years, but in no way as in depth as i am now. Glad I quit, but I crave one just about everyday, it sucks!!

I smoked for at least 30 years, and quit about 3 years ago. Good, strong, spicy cigars fill the void nicely. In fact, when I'm smoking a nice Partagas 898v, I only barely miss that nice, ammonia- soaked tobacco that is known as a Marlboro Light. But, like Samb...I pretty much crave one every day. Cigarette smoke is all about how it feels in the lungs...not how it tastes and feels in the mouth and nasal sinuses.

[ZinZan]

I'm kinda ashamed to admit this, I'm still a smoker. Been smoking the past 15 years, been trying to quit the past couple of years. Sad to say I've failed miserably. But I've managed to cut down to 2-3 packs a week. Tried cigars as replacement to cigarettes but i cant really afford cigars on regular basis. I usually smoke 1 or 2 cigar a week.

[groza]

I enjoy the occasional couple of cigarettes at parties or when hanging out with smokers but I'm quite picky about the brands. Most cigarettes taste either terrible/ chemical or have no taste at all, except for the filterless variants which can sometimes remind you of a cigarillo but with that extra feeling of tar building up in your throat and bits of tobacco in your mouth.

I like the effect of nicotine but it's not so strong that becoming a regular smoker would be worth it for me. When I buy a pack, I usually end up giving half of the cigarettes away to other people because I'm bored with the sensation after a while.

This practice of smoking cancer sticks now and then might not be the most intelligent thing but at least I know that I'm at no risk for addiction because I've smoked a lot for a couple of days and then gone months without the desire. I have no problem with cigarette smokers around me as long as it's not completely clogging up the air, I like the aroma sometimes.

[sblevit]

I have to admit loving all forms of tobacco -- cigars, cigarettes, pipe, dip, chew, plug, you name it. If you put it in front of me, I will consume it. But I don't buy cigarettes (unless I've had a few too many cocktails and even then I'll smoke two and throw the pack away afterward).