Famous Cigar Quotes from Celebrities and Stars
Famous cigar smokers have been peppering world history for hundreds of years. Iconic photos of Winston Churchill, Ulysses S. Grant, Babe Ruth, George Burns and Groucho Marx are synonymous with cigar smoking. The love for tobacco many seminal figures have shared throughout the annals of history is purely evident. Politicians, writers, actors, entrepreneurs, military leaders and deep thinkers have contributed noteworthy cigar quotes, funny antics and thought-provoking sentiments that continue to strike a chord with cigar lovers today. We’ve compiled a list of intriguing excerpts from famous cigar sayings and quotes offered by some of the most beloved cigar smokers in history.
Modern-Day Celebrity Cigar Smokers
How often has the seductive ritual of indulging in a fine cigar been depicted in a classic film that prompted you to fire one up yourself? We happen to know a number of celebrity cigar smokers who also love to indulge out of character. Many prominent Hollywood stars are not only famous for whom they portray on the silver screen, they’re also regarded for their affinity for fine cigars. Here’s a bit of cigar commentary from some of the brightest luminaries to grace our movie theatres and magazine covers.
“I think cigars are just a tremendous addition to the enjoyment of life.”
—Rush Limbaugh
“Some people meditate; I smoke cigars.”
—Ron Perlman
“There’s something about smoking a cigar that feels like a celebration. It’s like a fine wine. There’s a quality, a workmanship, a passion that goes into the smoking of a fine cigar.”
—Demi Moore
“Why pay $100 on a therapy session when you can spend $25 on a cigar? Whatever it is will come back; so what, smoke another one.”
—Raul Julia
"If I had taken my doctor's advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn't have lived to go to his funeral."
—George Burns
“Fresh air makes me throw up. I can’t handle it. I’d rather be around three cigars blowing in my face all night.”
—Frank Sinatra
Historical Figures
Cigars and tobacco have been a prominent part of many pivotal moments in history. Ancient Mayan cave drawings depict tobacco use. Christopher Columbus discovered an early version of cigars when he first arrived in Cuba. Tobacco was one of the first crops grown for profit in North America. Famous military leaders have plotted their greatest victories in the thick aroma and smoke of a fine cigar. Smoking has long been a source of inspiration, meditation and reflection for many of the world’s most gifted writers. Politicians rank among the most voracious consumers of fine cigars. Perhaps there is an inherent link between tobacco and the leading of a nation.
Firing up a fine cigar and getting lost in thought is a common mutual undertaking. How often do you like to ponder your inner thoughts while indulging in a tasteful smoke? You may not be sitting in a psychiatrist’s office, but a premium cigar is a worthy companion for analyzing and solving a host of problems. As the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud began smoking at the age of 24, smoked an average of 20 cigars a day and was frequently photographed with a cigar in hand.
Sit back and absorb a resonant collection of insights from prominent individuals who have shaped the course of history in profound ways.
“If you can’t send money, send tobacco.”
—George Washington (to the Continental Congress, 1776)
“Gentlemen, you may smoke.”
—King Edward VII of England (ending Queen Victoria’s long smoking ban in court)
“Tobacco is the plant that converts thoughts into dreams.”
—Victor Hugo
“Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man’s enjoyment of his cigar.”
—Mark Twain
“I never smoke to excess – that is, I smoke in moderation, only one cigar at a time.”
—Mark Twain
“If heaven has no cigars, I shall not go there.”
—Mark Twain
“It has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain when awake.”
—Mark Twain
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”
—Abraham Lincoln
“Cheap cigars come in handy; they stifle the odor of cheap politicians.”
—Ulysses S. Grant
"I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form."
—Winston Churchill
“Smoking cigars is like falling in love. First, you are attracted by its shape; you stay for its flavor, and you must always remember never, never to let the flame go out!"
—Winston Churchill
"Cigars served me for precisely fifty years as protection and a weapon in the combat of life... I owe to the cigar a great intensification of my capacity to work and a facilitation of my self-control."
—Sigmund Freud
