How many men do you know that like to have a cigar now and then? Chances are you know at least a few cigar smoking men. They range from the ones who, like comedian Groucho Marx of several decades ago, always have a cigar close at hand to those men who may indulge in a cigar at a special occasion. It seems that with all the talk about the dangers of smoking cigarettes, the time-honored cigar has been pretty much left alone in the minds of many people.

Part of the problem is that our culture has long held a “boys will be boys” mentality. Men are almost expected to do the dangerous things, even when we know these acts are not necessary. The cigar smoking man is one of action, or swift decision, one who does what he thinks he should do, no matter what others say. In short, he is a man’s man, one to be emulated. At least, that is the image we often still foist on our men, despite all the talk of being sensitive and using our brains to solve problems that has been floating around for the last thirty years.

So what is a man to do? Is men smoking cigars such a bad thing? What about the tradition of handing out cigars when the man becomes a father? What would one enjoy with a dram of nicely aged Scotch whiskey? What would one do to celebrate the accomplishment of a major task? A man smoking cigar is considered appropriate, if not down right essential in these sorts of situations.

Perhaps the key is to appeal to the man’s sense of individuality. Why does a man have to smoke a cigar in a given situation? Who made up that rule? Men smoking cigars may have been all right in times when tobacco was thought to be good for you, but what man today wants to do something that tears down his physical strength, even to the point of possibly impacting his ability to engage in the act of romance? The answer to that question is that few men would do so. If that is the case, then traditions be damned; choose to make your own traditions and do something that will be good for the mind and the body. This type of approach will greatly change the image of men cigar smoking from being desirable to just being rather stupid. In the long run, this change may save quite a few lives as well.