Is a Cigar Just a Cigar? A Glimpse at the New-Age Cigar Consumer

Academy of Marketing Science Review, 2003 by LaTour, Michael S, Henthorne, Tony L, Braun-LaTour, Kathryn A

 

This continuing and once again growing demand for high-quality cigars has profound social connotations. With strong metaphorical overtones, cigar consumption has persistently occupied the attention of the popular press and entertainment industry (having shown up everywhere from The Simpson's and HBO's Sopranos'to CD covers such as Jay-Z's) and has been linked to the phenomenal appeal and success of Cigar Aficionado (CA) magazine. It seems as though cigar smoking has become a symbol of good times and good fortune (Schultz 2000).

But the growth in high-quality cigar consumption seems to fly in the face of health consciousness and to contradict the anti-smoking movement. In fact, some anti-tobacco critics argue CA performs a maladaptive function, masking health concerns (DeSantis and Morgan 2003). Quality cigars appeal to consumers that heretofore would have been highly unlikely candidates to favor such a seemingly politically incorrect indulgence. Such otherwise abstemious individuals might be expected to turn up their noses at the mere thought of lighting up. Yet, apparently, they make an exception to their scruples when it comes to the pleasures of smoking a cigar. Perhaps this is reflective of a strong underlying materialistic value system that considers premium cigars and other visible trappings as evidence of success and achievement (Gallo 1997; Martin and Elkin 1995; Richens and Dawson 1992).

In many ways cigars have become the fashion accessory (Beirne 2000; Savona 2003). Somewhat paradoxically, many of the new cigar smokers actually consider themselves to be "non-smokers." They exercise and watch their diet, yet feel free to partake of a hand-rolled Central American tobacco delicacy. Most are upscale professionals - well-educated people with a high social profile (Shanken 1996). After all, good cigars are expensive - typically costing $8 to $15 a piece (often more) for something considered conducive to the most refined delectation. Additionally, significant numbers of these new cigar connoisseurs are female (Beirne 2000, Benitez 1996, Triplett 1995) (conspicuous examples are Demi Moore and Raquel Welch on the covers of CA).

As smoking has been demonized and tabooed, it has naturally become eroticized and seductive (Wall Street Journal 1997). Women have taken a particular pleasure in transgressing the taboo against feminine smoking. That scandalous pleasure may be found today in the spectacle of women smoking fat cigars while lounging on leather chairs. Along with many other social scientists, we must wonder: Why is this happening? What is the meaning of all of this? How have the self-concepts of upscale individuals changed so as to find favor with cigars? What do fancy cigars mean and symbolize in the lives of the men and women who consume them?

In this paper, a review of the current cigar phenomenon is put into perspective given the vast historical context and the meaning of the cigar as a cultural icon. Second, literature and preliminary qualitative data supporting the interactionalist viewpoint of product symbolism (Solomon 1983) where the cigar smoker is influenced by the messages they believe they are sending out to other people through their usage of the cigar. Data are not an end, but rather part of the "bricks and mortar" for construction of proposed theoretical underpinnings of the cigar smoking experience. Our first theoretical model represents the "internal/external symbolism" of cigar consumption. Our second theoretical model provides an overview of the internal hedonic experiential elements associated with the cigar consumption experience.

We contend this current work provides an initial conceptual "platform" for deep, but not overly "pre-structured" reflective thought on the direction of future research on cigar consumption--perhaps best facilitated for the researchers with a Cohiba Robusto and some single-malt scotch.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

Growth in Cigar Demand

Cigar production and consumption in North America enjoys a long and colorful history spanning in excess of 500 years (Del Todesco 1996). Perhaps no country on earth is as strongly identified with one particular product as Cuba is with cigars (Miller and Henthorne 1997). Over ten million Cuban cigars are believed smuggled into the United States each year (Thurston 1995). Given the trade embargo in effect against Cuba since 1960, the supply of high-quality cigars legally available in the U.S. has come principally from other Latin American and Caribbean-based producers, many of which where founded by Cuban exiles.

As recently as fifteen years ago, with the image of the cigar at an all-time historic low, few would have envisioned the tremendous resurgence in cigar sales that has been experienced. This renewal, though tempered, proceeds even in the face of increased consciousness and concern for one's health. Between 1993 and 1997, cigar consumption increased more than 47%, and consumption of large cigars increased a remarkable 68% (Feit 2001). Similarly, in 1996 alone, the growth of imported cigars showed an astounding 67% increase (Savona 1997). From a level of approximately 100 million premium cigars imported annually into the U.S. between the years 1980 and 1992, the market stood at almost 200 million by the end of 1999 (Ackerman 1999). Overall, during the last half of the 1990s, cigar sales and consumption increased by over 50% (Wenger, Malone, and Bero 2001). Today, following several years of declining or flat sales, cigar consumption has returned to those lofty levels. During the first ten months of 2002, handmade cigar imports rose from 179 million to 195 million (Savona 2003), with like increase expected for the final two months of the year.