The Love Affair With The Cigar Holder Still Continues

The affectionate association with tobacco in America goes back all the way to 5000 BC. While archaeological proof does not exist about any cigar holder being used in those times, the ancient Mayan artifacts provide some proof that smoke pipes were already being used. Since the beginning, smoking has been considered a social act, an addicting vice and a stress reliever substance. Even at that time the persecution was always there for this habit. For example, throughout the history users of smoking tobacco have been punished. Such rulers who perceived tobacco as a bad habit and a vice that needed elimination ranged from the Ottoman Empire's Murad IV and Chinas Qing Dynasty of Manchu to the Patriarch of Moscow in 1634.

Various ways were employed to limit the tobacco trade but during the colonization period in Asia, and South and North America by European countries the trade reached its zenith. The lucrative and flourishing trade further got boost when British started trading with China. It must have been around middle of the nineteenth century when as a smoking accessory cigar holder was invented. The Love letters of a Genius, a book published in 1905 by E. A. S. Watt recounted the experience of a Prosper Merimee who was gifted a cigar holder in 1861 by a Siamese ambassador.







In 1881 in Brooklyn, New York, Henry A. Stone patented the invention of this accessory. It is not only the prestige that is associated with this cigar accessory but its design also allows keeping cigar in good shape and in fresh condition. On August 9, 1979 in an article written by the Glenne Currie in the Sarasota Herald Tribune the comedian George Burns has been quoted as saying that there is no need to bother with Cuban cigars, with the help of the holder even the 35 cent cigar smokes just as good.

Whether it was organized or disorganized, the anti-smoking movement continued to impinge on the smoking population. And in such movements the late comedian was a powerful voice. Even with the rising advocacy of healthy living in the 1980s and class action suits cases being settled at the start of the 1990s, the smoking continued with some amount of tobacco. It only proves that old habits die hard.


Even though presently cigar holder is available in different styles and designs, now it is rather considered a novelty. Its most common design is a stainless steel or a single aluminum tube. With some of the models two sticks can be held together and in such a case designers also add suede or leather binding to enhance the holder’s appeal. Since 1997 the demand for cigars has been on the decline but the demand for Big Tobacco continues in some format like cigarette. With the use of filters in the cigarettes the function of holder was somewhat displaced.