Interesting Opinions On Cigars From Recent Survey

According to a recent survey by the ASC (alt.smokers.cigars) the following results were obtained from a recent online survey of cigar smokers: 86% of cigar smokers report that they do not inhale. The average number of cigars smoked per week is 6.74 at and average price of $4.34 The best individual cigars were the Romeo y Julieta Churchill(Cuba) with 8 votes, the Cohiba Esplendido(Cuba) and Montecristo(Cuba) each with 7 votes, and rounding out the top five were the AF Flor Fina and the AF Hemmingway Signature both from the Dominican Republic with 5 votes each The best cigar brands overall were A. Fuente from Dominican Republic with 15 votes, A. Fuente Hemmingway(DR) with 12 votes, the always popular and internationally known Cohiba from Cuba with 12 votes, Excalibur by HdM of Honduras, and in 5th La Gloria Cubana from the United States. The worst cigars were Phillies, Swisher Sweets, Habana Golds, White Owl, Te-Amo, Dutch Masters, Hav-A-Tampa, El Producto, Garcia y Vega, H Upmann, Hoyo/Excalibur, and King Edward. According to the survey the 10 most popular cigar smoking celebrities are George Burns in first place, followed by David Letterman in second, then Arnold Schwarzenegger in third, Groucho Marx fourth, Rush Limbaugh fifth, Tom Selleck sixth, Bill Cosby seventh, Jack Nicholson eighth, Winston Churchill ninth, and the character Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld tenth. The favorite cutting methods were the guillotine, Bulls Eye, and the V-Cut respectively. The two most popular methods of lighting the cigar were the butane lighter at 51% and wooden matches at 33%. According to those surveyed 47% said that they smoked a wide variety of cigars while 38% reported smoking their favorites and testers. Most reported their reason for smoking cigars was relaxation, followed by "makes me light headed" and enjoyment of smoking. The length of time the responders had been smoking cigars ranged from newcomer to over 40 years with the average being 7.2 years. 49% of those surveyed said they bought both boxes and singles, 34% bought only single cigars and 17% bought only boxes. 44% of the surveyed cigar smokers bought their cigars locally while 42% bought locally and mail order, and 14% through mail order only. Of those with a humidor they had an average of 162 cigars in the humidor and at an average total value of $250 with most of the cigars coming from Dominica, Honduras, Cuba, and Nicaragua. According to the survey 88% said they would smoke Cuban cigars on a regular basis if it were not for the United States ban and their opinion about Fidel Castro was pretty even with 53% saying that they had no opinion about him and 45% being Anti-Castro. 43% said they thought the Cuban Embargo would be lifted by 2009.