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Successful South Africans are smoking more cigars as cigarette usage declines
Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa 15 March 2010
"We can’t all drive Rolls Royces and Maseratis, but a lot of us will be able to afford one of the best cigars on earth."
In a plush bar in Johannesburg, Sizwe Ncapayi leans against a gleaming wooden bar counter, strikes a match and – with a flick1 of his wrist – lights a thick cigar. The businessman smacks2 his lips as he takes a puff3. Ncapayi swirls4 the smoke in his mouth, rolls his eyes, exhales5 rapidly and declares, “Wonderful flavor!”
The cigar he holds between thumb and forefinger6 while sipping8 his cognac and chatting with his lovely companion is a Cuban Cohiba that costs well over US$ 100. Ncapayi says he spends “quite a lot each month” on cigars, “but not as much as some people over here.”
Most good quality cigars on sale in South Africa range in price from US$ 6 to $50 each. But there are others that are far more extravagant9, such as the world’s most expensive cigar – the cognac-infused His Majesty’s Reserve brand. It’s made by the United States-based company Gurkha and produced in the Dominican Republic. It costs US$ 750. That’s almost 6,000 South African rands for a single smoke.
“No ways would I pay so much for one cigar,” Ncapayi says, scoffing10, adding, “but I know quite a few people here who would.”
The young entrepreneur smokes mainly cigars, he says, “because it shows people that I am now able to afford the finer things in life … When smoking a cigar, you are like, achieving. You’ll be not smoking as such but making yourself big, advertising11 yourself.”
New cigar smokers12: young, black and very successful
Ncapayi is typical of a new, rising breed of cigar smokers, according to Colin Wesley, South Africa’s leading cigar trader, who supplies most tobacconists in the country. These new cigar smokers, he says, are young, black and extremely successful.
“Cigars have always been associated with achievement,” says Wesley. “These young professionals, including many young black businessmen, like the big, expensive brands. Some of them come in and say, ‘Give me your biggest and most expensive cigar.’ They are not shy to spend money.”
The tobacconist argues that this makes sense: “If you think about it, even if they’re spending 250 rand (US$ 35) on a cigar – it may be a lot of money, but it’s not a lot of money for something that’s considered to be (among) the best in the world.”
There’s a “feeling of achievement” in that, says Wesley. “We can’t all drive Rolls Royces and Maseratis and things like that – but a lot of us, at some stage in our lives, will be able to afford one of the best cigars on earth.”
Chasm13 between rich and poor in South Africa
Yet South Africa remains14 one of the most unequal societies in the world. As the nation’s slums expand, so do its lavish15 suburbs, where people pay many millions of rands for opulent houses. While millions of citizens earn less than a dollar a day, South Africa is also home to the most millionaires (in dollars) on the continent.
And as opportunities have opened up in business after decades of apartheid-inspired white economic domination, increasing numbers of black people are now getting rich.
“They can afford to spend money on the most powerful status symbols – one of which is the cigar,” says Wesley.
Brett Mulder, who manages what is arguably the finest cigar bar in Africa, in Johannesburg, says he’s seen a “major spike” in cigar sales in recent years. “On a given night here you’ll find hundreds of people, dancing, eating and smoking cigars.”
“The palates of South Africans, including black South Africans, have matured over the past 10 years especially,” he says, and they want luxury items, like cigars and champagne16.
Anti–smoking laws ‘spark’ more cigar smoking
It strikes many as ironic17 that the increase in cigar consumption in South Africa is happening along with a drastic drop in cigarette smoking, as the government intensifies18 what’s already some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking legislation.
Smoking in public is illegal in South Africa, and higher taxes on tobacco products make cigarettes too expensive for many South Africans. Deterrents20 such as these have helped drive cigarette smoking in the country down to the lowest rates in modern times.
Yet, the National Council Against Smoking wants even stricter anti-smoking regulations and higher tobacco taxes. But it acknowledges that while almost 40 percent of South African adults smoked cigarettes in the mid-1990s – about 17 million people – now just over 20 percent are regular cigarette smokers – about seven million people.
While there are no statistics available as to how many South Africans currently smoke cigars, tobacconist David Masterson says increasing cigar sales are an obvious indication that more people in the country are smoking them.
“It used to be that South Africans of all incomes smoked,” he comments. “But now, with the costs involved, it’s almost as if smoking’s become more exclusive. And the people who can afford to smoke these days tend to be the people who can afford to spend money on higher-end products – hence their penchant21 for cigars….”
Wesley agrees that harsh anti-smoking legislation may have inadvertently “sparked” higher sales of cigars in South Africa. He says he sees more “casual” smokers abandoning cigarettes in favor of cigars – especially “small but top quality” varieties.
“I think their feeling is that a pack of cigarettes is so expensive these days that they may as well spend their money on fewer, but higher quality, cigars,” Wesley explains.
Affluent22 South African cigar smokers shield themselves from the harsh anti-smoking laws by enjoying their habit at home or in exclusive cigar bars and clubs, where the owners buy a special, expensive license23 that permits their patrons to smoke on the premises24.
Ferraris, Lamborghinis and beautiful women
One of the “chief categories” of cigar smokers who regularly frequent his establishment, Mulder says, is “the gentleman with far too much disposable income to spend on anything tangible25, so he needs to smoke (his money). Those kinds of customers go for the largest, most expensive cigars that we stock.”
He says these smokers “just want to be seen smoking (cigars). They would never come here on a Tuesday or a Wednesday night, because those nights are more quiet and intimate here.”
These smokers “flaunt” their cigars, he says. “They probably wouldn’t smoke too much of it but they’d have it in their hand the whole night. As soon as it got wet or damaged, they’d just buy another one. A lot of the guys like that will arrive in Ferraris or Lamborghinis, and they will have the most beautiful woman sitting next to them in the whole club – if not three!”
Johannesburg businessman and self-confessed “party animal” Andile Nkosi confirms that he smokes cigars “because women love them. A loser doesn’t smoke cigars. There’s just something about them that says, ‘I’ve arrived.' ”
Wesley maintains cigar smokers are “usually slightly confident people. They’re not embarrassed to be seen smoking a cigar.” In fact, he adds, “They may be a bit embarrassed at times that they don’t know really what they’re smoking or why they’re smoking it!”
More female South Africans also getting in on the act
Wesley also sees growing numbers of South African women smoking small cigars called cigarillos. “They’ll be smoking those at a party or at a function, and they’ll want something a little bit exciting, so they’ll smoke that,” he says.
Mulder agrees that his female customers prefer small, flavored cigarillos and says it’s “rare” to see women smoking “proper” big cigars inside his club…. But he adds that “it does happen – usually because they’ve had too much to drink!”
In that case, says the manager, the women smokers “pout their lips” around a cigar and cover it in lipstick26. “They think (smoking a cigar is) quite sexy!” he exclaims, laughing.
Health risks
“Fun” and “sexy” status symbols they may well be, but according to the US National Cancer Institute, regularly smoking cigars poses serious health risks, including cancer of the mouth, esophagus and throat. Experts say lung disease is lower among cigar smokers than among cigarette users, because cigar smokers typically don’t inhale27 the smoke but rather “taste” it in their mouths. But they warn that cigar smoking can cause mouth and throat cancer.
As in the case of cigarette smoking, regular cigar users can become addicted28 to nicotine29.
But Nkosi says the dangers associated with using cigars are unlikely to deter19 members of South Africa’s black elite30 from pursuing what he says has become the “latest trend” to enhance their status as “Africa’s rising economic force.”
“All pleasure comes at a cost,” says Nkosi, smiling as he sucks at another of his beloved Montecristo cigars and takes another sip7 of golden cognac.
收听单词发音 |
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flick
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smacks
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| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
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puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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swirls
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| n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 ) | |
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exhales
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forefinger
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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sipping
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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scoffing
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| n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽 | |
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advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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smokers
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| 吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 ) | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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intensifies
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| n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 ) | |
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deter
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| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
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deterrents
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| 制止物( deterrent的名词复数 ) | |
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penchant
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| n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向 | |
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affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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lipstick
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| n.口红，唇膏 | |
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inhale
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| v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟) | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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nicotine
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| n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱 | |
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elite
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| n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的 | |
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