Commentary: Why I (Sort Of) Gave Up Cigars
7 Oct 2015
With a medical procedure looming, my doctor insisted I give up cigars for several weeks to clear nicotine from my system. I don’t really know how serious the risk is. All the material she gave me seemed to focus on the impacts of cigarette smoking.
Still, I trust her skills, she’s an excellent surgeon, and I knew I’d have no difficulty complying. And I do want to recover as quickly as possible. If that means a few weeks without cigars, so be it. What I didn’t fully count on, though, was how much I’d miss my cigar time.
Sitting on the back deck in the afternoon reading the papers or having one in the evening and listening to a baseball game. Dropping by the local B&M on Sundays and lighting up while watching an NFL game.
Sure, I can still read, listen, and watch. But, for me, these activities lose something without an accompanying cigar. Rarely do I ever smoke more than one cigar a day, so it’s purely pleasure, not a habit.
And I know about tobacco habit and addiction. I started smoking cigarettes as a teenager. Back then, I think the minimum smoking age was 16, though no one hesitated to sell a pack to someone much younger (who was just assumed to be buying them for their mother or father). My high school had a student smoking area and, when I went to work, every desk came with an ashtray. Cigarette advertisements were everywhere.
I smoked steadily for decades and quit about 30 years ago. It was about the time the anti-smoking movement was beginning to take hold. Employers were doing things like banning smoking in the open and creating smoking rooms. I could see all that wasn’t going to end well for cigarette smokers.
But that didn’t make it any easier to quit. I struggled for months, maybe years, before I didn’t want another cigarette. Part of that was because I truly enjoyed smoking cigarettes. Well, some of them, anyway.
I used to joke that I’d take up cigarettes again when I retired. I didn’t but instead became attracted to cigars. Why, I’m still not exactly sure, though I don’t think it really had anything to do with cigarettes.
Lighting up a cigarette was a reaction, a release, a trigger. A way to focus, a signal to perform, a reward. Cigars are much more about relaxation and pleasure, a complement to enjoyable activities.
So, I’m looking forward to getting done with the operation, recovering, and, once again, hitting the humidor.
–George E
photo credit: N/A
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Best wishes and hope you have a speedy recovery!
Thanks!
Wishing you the best George. I am looking forward to your reviews!
Thank you. I have lots of smokes awaiting reviews.
Best wishes for a super speedy recovery!!
Me, too! Hope it turns out that way.
Hope everything goes well (as planned) and I hope you are back to smoking great cigars again! One + out of this…your palate will be extra clean and on-point! Cigars will be 2x the treat 😉
Yes, I do wonder how cigars will seem to me, especially the stronger ones. Should be interesting.
Hope everything goes well (as planned) and I hope you are back to smoking great cigars again! One + out of this…your palate will be extra clean and on-point! Cigars will be 2x the treat 😉
Good luck George…..hang in there it’s just a blink of time in your lifetime
Matt – You make a good point. Thank!
Will kept you in my prayers, hurry back, enjoy your reviews.
Swede – Thanks for the good wishes. Are you coming down this winter?
At this time, our plan is Yes.
Great. Let me know when you’re down and we’ll have to get together for a smoke!
Sounds great, will do.