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Giving the Gift of Cigars

Tis the season for a stogie, fa la la la la, la la la la??

For the past few holiday seasons, I?ve found that gifts are getting harder and harder to give. Not only has creativity fallen through the cracks, but presents are not as monetarily feasible as they once were: there are televisions for sale that cost more than my car. Because of this, holiday shopping has become an increasing burden, not only for me but for many others. As we find ourselves trapped somewhere between the shopping mall and the holidays of yore when the true meaning wasn?t showcased on a display stand at Macy?s, we think about how it used to be.

There was a time when the holidays were about more than purchasing the latest brand of technology or the most expensive cashmere sweater. It used to be so easy. A tie, a purse, even a bar of soap attached to a rope all fell into the category of a suitable gift for, back then, it was merely the thought that counted. But lately, these gifts have lost their ability to be accepted, and they aren?t the only ones. I have found that even the hand made card I give my parents as a gift each year is becoming met with less and less enthusiasm, no matter how much glitter I add..

Still, we haven?t lost this battle yet. With the onset of the season we are given the opportunity to reinvent the true spirit of the holidays; we are given the ability to give a gift that says something grander than simply, ?I have a huge limit on my credit card.? One way we can do this is by giving the gift of cigars.

Why Give Cigars as a Gift?

Cigars may not seem like a run-of-the-mill holiday gift but, in this age of overblown commercialism, their lack of reputation should work in their favor. Instead of representing brand name hand bags or a clothing line overseen by a professional rapper, cigars represent what the holidays are really all about: friendship, celebration, and happiness.

Giving a cigar as a gift conveys that some actual thought, and not just your paycheck, went into the gift giving process. Cigars, possessing a meaningful stigmatism, are often exchanged in the same manner friends exchange a knowing glance, or a comforting pat on the shoulder: they are exchanged in a way that makes them about something more that meets the eye.

What Kinds of Cigars to Give?

The type of cigar to buy simply depends on the recipient. For a cigar novice, cigar samplers make excellent gifts, giving the novice the ability to sample a variety of cigars, finding one he or she truly enjoys. If you don?t purchase a sampler, then a box of mild cigars ? such as the Macanudo from the Dominican Republic or the Casa Tora?o from Honduras - usually works best for beginners. For the cigar connoisseur, purchasing a box of their favorite brand ? or a brand you know they are dying to try ? is an excellent way to go. And, for novices and connoisseurs alike, enrolling them in a cigar of the month club will almost always be met with enthusiasm: it?s the gift that never gets extinguished, at least not while the membership is valid.

What are Some Unique Cigar Gifts?

You may find that some people who love cigars are already well stocked, seemingly having more tobacco reserves than Cuba. For these people, a more unique cigar gift may need to be purchased.

From a custom made cigar box to an ashtray engraved with a sentimental message, from an inscription laden cigar cutter to a leather cigar case, any kind of a cigar accessory makes an excellent holiday gift. Perhaps you know someone who could use a humidor or a person who, forever asking others for a light, is desperately in need of a Colibri.

For those who want to add in even more sentiment, purchasing a cigar lover one of their favorite brands and having the band engraved is a present that likely can not be rivaled, providing you with the rare opportunity to give a gift that can be both used and cherished.

Where to Buy Them?

The holidays are a time of mayhem, as people crowd shopping malls, the masses fill department stores, and those with a dial up Internet, surfing the Web to look for gift ideas, wait an hour for a page to load. However, a great amount of this can be avoided if you know what you are buying before hand, giving you the ability to get in, get out, and get home in time to take the turkey out of the oven.

Cigar gifts are one of the easiest gifts to buy, with many local cigar and tobacco shops having a large variety of cigars, and a large selection of accessories. The Internet, a portal that allows you to avoid lines and crowds, also provides several online resources that enable you to purchase any tobacco related item under ? or grown in ? the sun. Many of these online shops offer discounted prices and shipping for free.

Giving the gift of cigars or a cigar related item rarely goes up in smoke. Getting away from what has become the new traditional idea of holiday gifts ? designer jeans, video games, car stereos ? ironically evokes some old holiday tradition, a tradition filled with goodwill, friendship, bliss, and, of course, tobacco seeds.

Jennifer Jordan is an editor and staff writer for http://www.whatsknottolove.com. At home in a design firm in Denver, Colorado, she writes articles specific to the finer things in life.

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This study covers the world outlook for little cigarette-size cigars weighing less than 3 pounds per 1,000 cigars across more than 200 countries. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-à-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.

The 2007 Import and Export Market for Smoking Pipes, Pipe Bowls, Cigar or Cigarette Holders, and Parts Thereof in Germany

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On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof in Germany face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof to Germany? How important is Germany compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof vary from one country of origin to another in Germany? On the supply side, Germany also exports smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof. Which countries receive the most exports from Germany? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers? This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof in Germany. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof for those countries serving Germany via exports, or supplying from Germany via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models. In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where Germany fits into the world market for imported and exported smoking pipes, pipe bowls, cigar or cigarette holders, and parts thereof. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for Germany in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that Germany is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize Germany compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes.

Producing cigar tobacco in Pennsylvania (Farmers' bulletin / United States Department of Agriculture)

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Credibility up in smoke - Daily Telegraph

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:15:36 GMT

Credibility up in smoke
Daily Telegraph, Australia - 19 hours ago
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