Unconventional Wisdom

One of the most fascinating things to me is how much misinformation floats around in the cigar business, and how many poorly informed ideas I hear expressed.  This is a shame, as it diminishes our credibility as an industry every time an employee in a cigar shop repeats these shopworn ideas.

I cringe every single time I overhear someone recommend that all beginning smokers start with Connecticut wrapped cigars. Folks, I can make a cigar with a Connecticut wrapper that would make even the most seasoned cigar smoker break out in a cold sweat and feel their blood race.

Or, how about this one? "The dark wrappers are stronger." Think about it folks. How great a percentage of the tobacco does the wrapper comprise, and therefore how much strength could it add? In simple terms, you're confusing body with strength.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that what we need as an industry is for the people in it to finally accept that a little education wouldn't hurt them, and might even help.

Fortunately there's a resource available that every retailer should be taking advantage of: Tobacconist University, and completion of their Certified Retail Tobacconist course should be mandatory for every employee in every shop in the country.

If you haven't heard of this, or if you have and just haven't bothered with it yet, maybe it's time you do as I've done: require every staff member to attend and receive certification as a requirement for further employment.

It's time we as an industry separated the wheat from the chaff.