Many politicians express a passion and love for cigars, and this may affect decisions being made, but the question is if it’s a positive or negative affect. Many claim it’s positive because it allows politicians to relax and loosen tensions during debate and discussions of important issues. Others claim that cigars bring with them the stigma of Big Tobacco and its influences to the political arena. Can politicians be trusted to guard this nation’s interest despite their self proclaimed love and passion for cigars? In many cases this have proved to be so.
One case in particular where the right political decision was make by a cigar loving politician is the Cuban Missile Crises back in 1962. Reportedly, once President John F. Kennedy signed the embargo against Cuba, then the world’s best producer of fine cigar tobacco, he order Pierre Salinger to buy up all the Cuban cigars he could find in Washington, D. C, Maryland, Virginia and the surrounding areas. Despite the embargo, he didn’t want to give up Cuban cigars. In the US, the city of Tampa, Florida was hard hit by the embargo because it was know as the top producers of fine cigars and suffered because of the embargo against cigar tobacco from Cuba. However, the cigar industry had to respond to the demand for products close to the same quality as those produced using Cuban tobacco.
Cigar smoking was seen by the masses as a ritual of celebration for such occasions as the a child’s birth, an anniversary or at the conclusion of a business deal. Those who could afford them enjoyed them at the end of a the day of work or after a fine meal along with their favorite liquors. Cigars are also viewed as a sign of power, smoked by powerful people or the sign of a special occasion. Another political figure who had a notable passion and love for cigars is Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It’s said that he claimed to have a political edge by being able to offer world leaders a cigar during sensitive negotiations. He would reportedly stay at the El Pasaje Hotel in Tampa to be in the center of cigar shops to get as many fine cigars as he could to carry back with him.
Since the embargo has been lifted against Cuba, despite the cigar industry’s worldwide effort to replace the dominance of Cuban tobacco and the Cuban cigar, can Cuba rise to its former glory. Time will tell. Still, to many politicians, cigars are considered a peace maker.