Heard in the Humidor: September 8-12, 2008

Women’s feelings about themselves were very different from those of men while smoking cigars."Women responded that they feel powerful (24%), attractive (25%), strong (15%), fun (43%), and rebellious (22%) when cigar smoking. Men, when asked the same question, responded in much lower numbers. Instead, men felt peaceful when smoking cigars (97%), a sentiment that was shared by 76% of women."

Los Angeles – "Women’s feelings about themselves were very different from those of men while smoking cigars.

"Women responded that they feel powerful (24%), attractive (25%), strong (15%), fun (43%), and rebellious (22%) when cigar smoking. Men, when asked the same question, responded in much lower numbers. Instead, men felt peaceful when smoking cigars (97%), a sentiment that was shared by 76% of women."

That’s one of the intriguing findings of a recent survey about women and cigars conducted by the Association for Women Cigar Smokers in cooperation with Cigar Research.com.

The survey, conducted in mid-2008, asked 83 women and 100 men about their cigar-smoking habits. Some of the findings:

>> On average, the female smokers enjoy 3-5 cigars per month, an average of about one per week. However, 13% said they smoked one cigar a day and seven percent said they smoked two per day!

>> On cigar spending, 43% said they spent between $100 and $500 per year but 24% reported spending of $501-1,000 annually.

>> On brand selection, a staggering 82% said their "personal experience with a brand" was the most important factor. Packaging wasn’t nearly as important: 73% said they were indifferent to box design and 55% said they were unimpressed by label design.

>> Why do women smoke cigars? Some 59% of the women surveyed said their motivation was simply the taste of cigars.

>> The demographics of the 83 female smokers ranged from age 18 to 87, with the average age at 40 with representation spread across the U.S. In terms of years smoking cigars, the average of 6.3 years, with one respondent having smoked cigars for 78 years!

Both the men and women surveyed said they bought a lot of their cigars online, but women noted that they were attracted to stores in which they felt "comfortable." Other attributes such as location, lounges and selection were much less important.

>> The expected distribution agreement by Miami Cigar & Co. to handle the well-known Bahia lines made by Tony Borhani will not be completed.

Borhani told retailers and reporters at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association show in July that Miami Cigar would be distributing Bahia for him, leaving him free to concentrate on quality and promotion. However, a Miami Cigar announcement stated quite definitively that "negotiations with Tony Borhani concerning future distribution of Borhani’s Bahia cigars, had been terminated."

This leaves distribution of the Nicaraguan-made Bahia once again in Borhani’s hands. Miami Cigar & Co. had been on a spree of distribution acquisitions lately, most notably agreeing to represent the lengthy Felipe Gregorio brand line-up in addition to its historic distribution of brands from the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic.

>> The Boston Public Health Commission is proposing new anti-smoking regulations which, among other things, targets the closure of cigar bars in the City of Boston.

The Boston Globe reported that the new regulations are aimed primarily at cigarette smoking and will include a ban on the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and on college campuses and a ban on smoking in hotels and outdoors in patio areas of restaurants and bars. The story by reporter Stephen Smith also noted that "after a five-year grace period, the city would shutter cigar bars, swank salons catering to tobacco connoisseurs, which were exempt from the earlier regulation."

Following the introduction of the proposed ordinances, public comments in writing and in at least one hearing will be held before they can be voted on.

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Heard in the Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company. Copyright 2008; All rights reserved.

Rich Perelman

9/8/08

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