PASSIONATE SMOKING

Cigars have long been associated with men. Hanging between the lips of many affluent gentlemen, but as it turns out, cigars and women are not very far apart. In fact, women have been smoking tobacco for ages, and it’s not uncommon to find a cigarsmoking lady in this age

- SAMREEN KHOJA

MOST PEOPLE ASSOCIATE CIGARS with distinguished gentlemen, yet women smoking cigars is far from unheard of. Been associated with men for centuries, smoking cigars with the affluent people has been a catalyst in cementing business deals and affirming friendships. If I were to ask you to think of a cigar-smoking icon, then the likelihood is you’d think of man-in-the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro, JFK as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many more. But have you ever thought about the female icons of the cigar?

Though this industry is still dominated by men, women smoking cigars is more prevalent than you might think. In the past couple of decades, there have been many women taking leadership roles, following the footsteps of their fathers in the cigar industry. So, what kind of cigars do women favour? It might surprise you to learn that they aren’t all about the small, thin cigars. Here’s a look at the history and some iconic women who enjoy passionate smoking.

EARLY CIGARS

The word cigar originally derives from the Mayan Sikar (“to smoke rolled tobacco leaves”). While the origins of cigar smoking are not known, anthropologists trace tobacco smoking to ancient Mayan women who were just as likely as their men to smoke tobacco. As for women and cigars, history has fluctuated as times have changed. The earliest evidence of women smoking is in fourteenth-century Aztec culture. The 16th century Peruvian women are also known to have smoked cigars.