1. 4/13/2016 Tobacco Store Communities Refuse To Let These Smoking Traditions Burn Out
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25
SHARES
Tobacco Store Communities Refuse
To Let These Smoking Traditions
Burn Out
by HOSU LEE Mar 01, 20:49
Surrounded by mahogany walls, a dozen middle-aged men
lounge on huge leather couches, puff stogies and drink whiskey. It
feels like a 1920s movie set. But it?s a smoke lounge at a cigar
shop in suburban Illinois.
"There is absolutely a community,? said Jordan Hirsh, the owner of
50-year-old Cigar King in Skokie, Illinois. ?There are everyday
customers who come from all different walks of life, but they all
like tobacco and they?re all friends.?

2. 4/13/2016 Tobacco Store Communities Refuse To Let These Smoking Traditions Burn Out
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?Everybody here knows everyone else at least by his or her first name,? said Sean Walsh. (Hosu Lee)
From construction workers and bikers to accountants and
physicians, a growing number of eclectic groups of people gather
at over 2,000 cigar shops nationwide where they read books,
solve Sudoku, play pool, watch sports, or simply talk to each other.
Some tobacco stores even host Halloween parties, Thanksgiving
dinners and Super Bowl watch parties. It?s akin to the Rockwellian
barbershop communities of old, where people would gather to
banter and relax.
Over 12 million people ? including quarterback Tom Brady and
Whoopi Goldberg ? smoke cigars in the U.S., according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While cigarette
smoking is slowly declining, the total consumption of cigars in the
U.S. has increased dramatically since 1993, according to the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Between 2000 and
2014, for example, cigar consumption increased by 122 percent
while cigarette consumption declined by 40 percent. One reason:
people mistakenly believe cigars are not harmful, when in fact
they can be just as addictive and unhealthy as cigarettes.

3. 4/13/2016 Tobacco Store Communities Refuse To Let These Smoking Traditions Burn Out
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?A cigarette is a two-minute nicotine injection,? said Jordan Hirsh, owner of Cigar King. (Hosu Lee)
Cigar aficionados avoid inhaling the smoke, which reduces the
risk of lung-related health problems. But those who switch from
cigarettes to stogies ?should not expect to cut their health risks,?
said Lynn Kozlowski, a University of Buffalo professor of public
health who studies tobacco use.
Cigars have more tar and other toxins than cigarettes and can
cause cancers in the oral cavity, larynx, esophagus and lungs,
according to the National Cancer Institute.
Yet, even well-educated users seem to think the government is
blowing smoke.
?When I see my dentist, he checks my mouth,? said Mark Schacht,
61, a Chicago physician. ?But if I?m going to worry about anything,
it?s driving in a car and eating fatty food than having an occasional
cigar.?
Schacht comes to the cigar shop once or twice a month with his

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business partner.
?The best part is that you get to spend time with your friends,? said Sasha Stojanovic. (Hosu Lee)
?My partner and I don?t socialize much other than when we come
here and chat,? Schacht said. ?It?s more of a guy-bonding
meeting.?
He says cigar smoking is one of the few remaining male bonding
rituals along with playing poker and going to bars, which he
dislikes. ?We don?t have a lot of guy?s nights out in the U.S.,?
Schacht said. Some countries have bathhouses or saunas where
people gather and mingle, he says, and cigar smoking ?fits into
that kind of thing.?
Like many smokers, Schacht says cigars make him relax. A
Chicago consultant, Sean Walsh, 34, says it can even be
meditative, like reading or doing a crossword puzzle. ?Its almost
like guided distraction,? he said.
Jordan Hirsh, the owner of Cigar King, also says while female
smokers are rare, his customers love it when they see women puff

5. 4/13/2016 Tobacco Store Communities Refuse To Let These Smoking Traditions Burn Out
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a cigar. ?They think it?s sexy,? he said.
While the origin of the cigar remains unclear, Columbus first
discovered Native Americans smoking twisted tobacco leaves in
1492. They called it sikar. The Spaniards translated it as cigarro.
Spain then claimed Cuba, a fertile land perfect for all types of
tobacco leaves, and created a massive cigar industry that lasted
until 1817. When Cuba nationalized American-owned oil refineries
without compensation in 1960, the U.S. embargoed Cuba, banning
the famous stogies from getting imported to the States. This led
the U.S. cigar industry to a significant downfall. But during the
1990s, popular culture and celebrities, such as Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Pierce Brosnan and Michael
Jordan, rejuvenated the industry.
?I think cigar is a social vehicle,? said Robert Ashe, owner of Cigary International. (Hosu Lee)
A manager at Ford Motor Company, Alex Szokolyai, 21, recently
moved from Philadelphia to Chicago and didn?t know anyone. He
happened upon a local cigar shop called Bull & Bear, where he
formed close friendships and eventually found his roommate.

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?I don?t think my time in Chicago would have been as enjoyable if
I hadn?t met all my friends at the cigar shop,? he said.
Szokolyai says he doesn?t need to go to the store to buy cigars,
since he can find them cheaper online.
?Where I see the value is not necessarily buying cigars, but
sharing the experience there,? he said.
Most cigar stores provide a smoking lounge for free as long as
you buy or smoke their product. But some, like Cigary
International in Wilmette, Illinois, requires a membership or a $10
fee to use the space.
Robert Ashe, 69, runs Cigary International, says tobacco stores
draw people for practical reasons as well.
?You can?t smoke anywhere else now,? Ashe said. Since 2007,
bans in public venues such as restaurants, bars, concerts, movie
theaters and stadiums have left tobacco enthusiasts looking for a
space to unwind. ?So you fish where the fish are,? he said.

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Customers play pool at Cigar King in Skokie, Illinois Dec. 3. (Hosu Lee)
Although not a regular customer, Michael Lavin, 69, appreciates
the community at Cigary. It reminds him of the old days when one
would go out for a dinner, sit at a lounge, have a nice cognac and
smoke a cigar. ?It makes you feel good to be part of this tradition."

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As the Pink Floyd song goes, ?Have a cigar.? (Hosu Lee)
Despite the Surgeon General package warning that ?cigar
smoking can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, even if you
do not inhale,? Lavin believes this tradition won?t go away anytime
soon. ?Smoking has been around since the ancient times,? he
said. ?I don?t see any reason why it would stop.?
Cover photo: Hosu Lee