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Have a Cigar, Relax

For a certain time in the 1990`s, the cigar industry was booming, catering to celebrities and youngsters who took a liking to the expensive treat. At a certain point though, the supply of quality tobacco couldn?t keep up with the demand and the market was flooded with pricey cigars of inferior quality. The high price and damaged goods drove away smokers who took to other inhalant goods.

But like every Hollywood movie, there is a happy end, if you don?t count the cancer of course. The cigar industry is back with a vengeance and has recently been on a steady climb. The quality has improved, and most of the cheap tobacco is gone, making way for the quality products coming from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Although it is not the good old mid-nineties for the cigar industry, last years` sales were triple that of the early 1990`s and growers and producers are optimistic looking ahead. Just so you understand the scope of things, at the peak of the boom in 1997, cigar imports to the U.S. reached 417.8 million cigars annually, according to the Washington-based Cigar Association of America (CAA). After the boom the number of imports dropped to 248 million. In 2005, imports reached back up to 319.4 million and it looks as if it will continue to grow, at least in the near future.