Go check out the crowd at your local cigar lounge and what immediately jumps out at you? Used to be it was old and male. As more women have joined the ranks of smokers, now you’d just say it’s old. Or put differently, there are very few patrons under the age of 35 at the cigar lounge. Why do few young people smoke premium cigars? We’ll suggest four — two legitimate and two not so legit but oft cited – reasons young adults don’t smoke premium cigars.
Premium Cigars are Too Expensive for Young Adults
“Cigars are just too expensive for young people!” rolls easily off the tongue and is often cited as a reason you don’t see more young adults smoking premium cigars but it really is not a legitimate reason. Premium cigars cost roughly the same as a cocktail out. Young adults often have a handful (or two) of alcoholic beverages on a night out. Young adults smoke other substances, some legal and some not so legal, that cost much more than a premium cigar. Young adults spend plenty of discretionary money on many product categories. Young adults often don’t have kids or mortgages. Cost isn’t the real reason young adults don’t smoke premium cigars.
Premium Cigars Take Too Long to Smoke & Young Adults Don’t Have the Attention Span
Blame it on Tik Tok or some other click bait app of the month! Sure it is true that society in general has changed but young people often get called out as having shorter attention spans than their seniors. Whether that’s scientifically true or not is debatable. The reality is society in general is moving faster across generations. Older people find time to enjoy a cigar. Also, cigars are the perfect companion to hours of mindless screen surfing or a myriad of other activities. Cigars don’t require undivided attention. This is another false reason cited for why young adults don’t smoke premium cigars.
Young Adults Don’t Smoke Premium Cigars Because Their Friends Aren’t Smoking Premium Cigars
Here’s the real reason you don’t see young adults at the cigar lounge: their friends aren’t there. It isn’t “cool” or if they were introduced to premium cigars they didn’t have a good initial experience (more on that later). The reality is most 20 somethings want to socialize with people their own age. Not people of their parents’ generation. The current situation is lounges aren’t full of young adults. Could that change? Who knows? Maybe the answer is to look at the rise or growth of female cigar smokers. It’s kind of a chicken or egg thing.
Young Adults Tried a Premium Cigar but Didn’t Have a Great First Experience
At any age you’re only going to become a regular cigar smoker, a true lover of the leaf, if you have early positive experiences with premium cigars. There are many reasons an initial experience could be bad. Maybe you didn’t know how to properly cut, light, or smoke (don’t inhale!) the cigar? Maybe you were offered a lower end cigar or something that isn’t even a premium cigar like the 2/99cents machine mades at the gas station? Maybe the cigar was poorly cared for (wet/dry) and didn’t smoke well? Maybe you were very inebriated on alcohol or something else already and the cigar hit you wrong? Maybe you were outdoors in the cold, wind, or rain or any of many other reasons you might have an initially bad experience with cigars?
As a premium cigar smoker looking to bring younger (legal smoking age) adults into the hobby, how do you set them up for success as a cigar smoker and give them the best chance of appreciating premium cigars? Take them to an indoor lounge or other suitable place. Make sure they aren’t inebriated, although a pairing is fine. Select a good, doesn’t have to be great, initial cigar for them. Show them how to cut, light, and smoke it properly. Explain that they can put it down or rest their cigar. Prep them that the experience will take an hour or so. If they like it; great, maybe they’ll come back for more. If they don’t that’s fine too and this introduction shouldn’t be pressure-filled. Cigars aren’t for everyone.
Who knows? Maybe things will change there will be more younger smokers. But even if things don’t change, soon enough this generation will get old(er) and start enjoying cigars anyway!
Photo credit: Cigar Life Guy
Editors’ Note: Cigars should only be enjoyed by those old enough to legally smoke. “Young” in this article refers to anyone 21-35.