3 Interesting Facts About the History of Cigars

Did you know that the term ‘cigar’ is the English word for the Portuguese word ‘cigarro’? Did you know that the first cigar manufacturing company in the US was found in 1820 and named Connecticut Broadleaf? Evidence of smoking goes back several thousands of years ago. As a cigar smoker, you may be tempted to think that all you know about cigars is all there is to know. Well, though you may know pretty much about cigars, there is still plenty of fun facts about cigars that you might not have come across. Here is a list of some of the most interesting facts about cigars.

1. Cigars Were Given as Carnival Prizes

Towards the beginning of the 20th century, cigars were sold at approximately $0.1 and $20. If this price were converted to current currency value with inflation considered, the approximate cost would be $0.28 – $5.71. Due to this high price, cigars were used as prizes at carnivals. This is essentially where the phrase ‘close but no cigar’ arose from.

Essentially, if a certain player in the carnival game lost the game but at a close margin, they would get the phrase to indicate they had lost the game. Unlike today, carnival games during that period were not for children. No cigar for a child, right? Over time, the price of a cigar has continued to rise.

Currently, the United States of America alone has approximately 17 million active cigar smokers. The passage of time has also led to a substantial increase in female smokers, beating the tradition where men were the majority smokers. Additionally, cigar manufacturers are now making flavored cigars to attract more women.

2. Cigar Manufacturing Can Take Up to Five Years to Finish

If you are a fan of statistics, you probably read the numbers when the United States of America imported approximately 330 million cigars in 2017. However, considering that the country has the ability and the means to manufacture its cigars, you get to wonder why the importation was done. Now, harvesting the tobacco and making it ready takes time. Essentially, harvesting the tobacco takes approximately 40 to 60 days. After the harvesting, the tobacco is cured and flavored. This curing and flavoring process can take up to five years to end. During the cigar-making process, the farmers and the cigar manufacturers patiently wait for the tobacco leaves to change their colors from yellow to brown.

3. Cigar Smoking Was Popularized by Catholic Missionaries

However controversial it might sound, it is the roman catholic missionaries who helped the cigar gain popularity. Essentially, these missionaries gave out tobacco seeds to congregations. Consequently, the cigar became famous in Europe, America, and Asia. Initially, many cigar smokers believed that cigars had medicinal abilities. Some factions believed that cigars were evil and meant to bring about destruction.

During the 19th century, smoking cigarettes was less popular than smoking cigars. This popularity led to more than 10000 cigar manufacturing companies in the United States of America. Though Cuba has gained popularity as the manufacturer of the best cigars, the first cigar manufacturing company established in Cuba had Spanish origins. The US still imports a good number of its cigars from Cuba and Spain to diversify the supply.

In a nutshell, cigars have an exciting history that we might not thoroughly debunk. The above are some of the interesting facts that you did not know.