QUARTER OF A MILLION WOMEN SMOKE STOGIES Representing 5% of the Market, 400% of Retail Dollars & Growing
Do Women Really Smoke Cigars for Pleasure...
Or is it all One Big Plot to find a Man?
• Today there are ½ of a million women cigar smokers, compared to as few as 8,000-10,000 in the mid '50's, according to the Cigar Association.
• Industry estimates that women cigar smokers are as high as 5%, and it's growing everyday.
• Managers of 15 cigar shops polled said that between 5%-8.2% of its customers were women buying for themselves rather than for someone else.
What's all the female smoke about?
According to Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America, from 1973 to 1993 sales of cigars dropped steadily. But starting in 1994, sales surged by one-third in two years, from 3.4 billion to 4.4 billion in 1996 - in part due to cigars' fast-growing popularity among women. Sales of the high-priced, handmade variety that women favor jumped nearly 65 percent, from 170 million in 1995 to 280 million in 1996.
To understand what this means, consider this: Women made up what was 1/10 percent of all cigar buyers in the country in the mid-1980's. Now they make up as much as 5% of the market. "The industry never saw this coming," says Sharp. The demand for premium cigars has driven much of the growth, he says. "They are less than ten percent of the cigars sold but account to more than 40% of the retail dollars."
Allan Whitlatch, owner of Lone Star Cigars - the largest cigar retailer in Dallas with more than $1 million in sales a year - says, "We've seen a dramatic increase in women buying cigars. It seems that as women make advances in the corporate world - which was male -dominated for so long - they also experience more stress. They have more disposable income. Now, women seem to be less afraid of embracing typical male pastimes for relaxation, for instance, cigar smoking."
There are even cigar accessories especially for women. Cigar Savor Enterprises, which in 1996 debuted a patented cigar saving device that stores a partially smoked cigar for later enjoyment called the Cigar Savor, has come out with a line in bright colors just for women. Says Cigar Savor president Dennis Nicotra, "I think women want their own accessories to complement the cigar smoking experience. Especially since it's a very social experience - women are increasingly lighting up at cigar bars and attending cigar smoking dinners - they want accessories that are decidedly female, it's almost an extension of their wardrobe, like a purse and shoes."
Even amidst anti-smoking pressure, cigar smoking has set itself apart. Zagat restaurant surveys included a listing of cigar-friendly restaurants in its questionnaire, Cigar Aficionado listed close to 1,000 cigar friendly restaurants in its guide last year. And, more women are among those diners seeking restaurants that cater to cigar smokers.
In Atlanta, the co-owner of the Martini Club uses cigar dinners as fundraising events for a local women's shelter. They usually get more than 200 people, 50% men, and 50% women. There are also women-only cigar dinners.
But, according to Sharon Krum, a contributor to The Internet Cigar Magazine, women smoke cigars for one reason only...men. "Somebody once asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks and he said, 'Cuz that's where the money is.' So let me give it to you straight, women hit cigar bars because that's where the men is. That's where the new mating dance is being danced, step by sexy step. Once we pretended to like baseball and football to get your attention, now it's cigars. It's the new singles bar, for a certain kind of single with a certain amount of disposable income. So women knocked on the door, and
the doorman, fearing a lawsuit, let us in."
Some cigar smoking women agree:
Said one chic cigar smoker, "I'm here to meet men. I find men who smoke big cigars are really sexy. And another, "This is a fun place. It's a singles bar but not a meat market. Everyone is laid back, very cool." And yet another, "It's a power trip for women and why not, we've earned it."
Others disagree. The trend just echoes what is going on across the board with breaking the glass ceiling as the millennium approaches, according to the manager of the Cee-Gar See-Bar in Brooklyn. And, people are under pressure, the job market is very competitive and drinking and having a cigar is a great way to unwind. She also thinks that smoking a cigar and drinking a fine liquor takes you back to another era of fine elegance and sophistication, and people like that.
Says Christina Marchissio, a mother of three who claims to have held the first women's only cigar dinner at her Long Island club, says she likes the way cigars make her feel. "It's a power thing. For women it says, 'We're strong enough to do what men can do.'"
Whatever the reason, it seems that women want cigars as bad as liposuction. If you're new to women's romance with cigar smoking, there's a new video called "Cigars 102 - For Women Only," the first video aimed solely at teaching women how to select and enjoy a fine cigar. The folks who distribute it swear the tape provides a step by step guide to give women confidence from the moment they open a humidor. Who knows, it may become as popular as Jane Fonda's Workout tape.
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This information has been brought to you by Cigar Savor Enterprises, manufacturers of fine cigar accessories including the CIGAR SAVOR, now available in new bright colors just for women. The company offers an
array of fine cigar accessories, available at fine tobacconists, specialty stores and mail order catalogs.
