CIGAR AFICIONADOS: CIGAR SALES PROVIDE MORE THAN A $1 BILLION A YEAR TO U.S. ECONOMY

Ralph Sharp used a plucker to cut a hole in the cigar wrapper so the cigar will draw when it is smoked.

Demi Moore, one of the most glamorous and highest paid actresses in the movie industry, says she likes the flavor and taste and enjoys the smell of cigars.

Moore, a cigar aficionado, has her own traveling humidor, a present from Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, another movie actor, likes his cigars, and doesn't care who knows it. He often hosts his own cigar dinners.

Cape Girardeau's most notable radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, says cigar smoking is an addition to the enjoyment of life.

Cigar smoking is suddenly more than a trend...it's becoming part the culture again.

More than 10 million Americans have taken up the stogie, making cigar smoking among the nation's hottest trends.

Cigar dinners are popular. Some are black-tie events with dinner prices ranging from $50 to $200. Cigar bars, restaurants -- and, barbershops -- are popping up everywhere in metropolitan areas throughout the country.

The distinguishing mark of the new businesses are that a few boxes of stogies are stacked here and there.

"Cigars historically have been a symbol that tended to indicate affluence, success, and social standings," said Ralph Sharp, a cigar aficionado and manager of Tobacco Lane, a tobacco shop in West park Mall. "They have always been kind of an image thing."

But, like so many symbols, cigars "have come and gone."

They back in vogue again.

The newest cigar craze has resulted from a combination of things.

The new "Cigar Aficionados" magazine has been largely responsible for the latest cigar interests. "Not to be left out is the rise of Cape Girardeau's own Rush Limbaugh, who promotes cigars on his show," said Sharp.

Limbaugh, and a number of various other celebrities, including Moore, Schwarzeneggar, and supermodel Claudia Schiffer, have gone public with their cigar smoking. And, comedian Bill Cosby is a long-time cigar smoker.

More than 10 million Americans have taken up the stogie. Sales of cigars were up 16 percent in 1996, accounting for more than $1 billion to the U.S. economy.

Manufacturers made more than 80 million premium, hand-rolled, cigars last year.

And men don't make up the entire market.

Historically, many women, have smoked cigars.

"Many European women have always smoked cigars publicly," said Sharp.

"And, in recent months, more women are coming out with their cigar preferences," said Sharp, mentioning Stephanie Powers, of televisions's Hart-to-Hart fame, along with Schiffer and Power.

Schiffer and Powers, along with Limbaugh and Schwarzenegger, have all graced the covers of the new Cigar Aficionados magazine.

More women are trying cigar smoking because their husbands or boyfriends smoke then, said Sharp. Other wives and girlfriends "just put up" with their cigar-smoking husbands and boy friends, said Sharp.

As many as 40 women have attended smokers in the St. Louis area. A smoker at Morton's in the Clayton area attracted 40 women, who enjoyed a four-course menu, at a cost of $125, featuring steak and vintage wines with liqueurs and three premium Montechristo cigars.

The Clayton smokers were sponsored by Morton's of Chicago, at 32 of its restaurants. Morton's reasoning is that the women's cigar event was a chance for women to get together and forge new friendships and business relationships while partaking in a ritual that has been traditionally reserved for men.

Cigar dinners range in price from $50 to more than $150.

Even in Los Angeles, a city of strict anti-smoking laws, some restaurants and hotels are accommodating the expanding legions of cigar smokers.

And, in Cape Girardeau, the largest city along Interstate 55 between St. Louis and Memphis, cigar aficionados will be holding their third cigar dinner this week.

"Women are encouraged to attend the dinner," said Sharp.

Wednesday's dinner, to be held at the Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant in downtown Cape Girardeau, is the third within a year.

"Three women attended our first dinner about a year ago," said Sharp. But, about half the crowd during the second dinner were women, and the majority of them smoked cigars.

Wednesday's dinner features a prime rib dinner, dessert, and cigars, provided by Lane Ltd., one of the world's largest distributors and manufacturers of premium cigars, at a price under $50.

Cigars available include hand-made cigars from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras. Attendees at the dinner will receive one each of handrolled Dunhills, Legions and Crown Achievements.

"We're looking forward to a great evening, and hope to continue with this tradition," said Sharp.

Advance registration is required through Tobacco Lane, and registrations will be taken through today.

"We're expect between 70 and 80 people at the dinner," Sharp said.

Cocktails are at 7 p.m. with dinner at 8.

"We'll then sit around and smoke cigars, having a good time and visit with other cigar aficionados, all smoking hand-rolled, imported cigars," Sharp said.

Most cigar prices range from 90-cents to $30, but one of the most popular brands in the Cape Girardeau market area appears to be a hand-rolled Dominican Republic cigar, Arturo Fuente, which ranges from $1.50 up.

Special cigar areas have become common place. A new cigar area in a St. Louis barber salon allows haircut customers to hang out before and after a haircut and enjoy a cigar.

The cigar selections at the barber salon range in prices from $3 to $50, some even more.

A restaurant in St. Louis, which features a cigar area with a walk in humidor, is hoping to sell more than 3,000 cigars a week.

The cigar-smoking crowd's newest publication is "Cigar Aficionados," started during the fall 1992, and, if you're so inclined, you can go (cigar) smoking online.

Cigar Aficionados has its own Web site -- www.cigaraficionado.com -- with an interesting array of pages.

Everything you ever wanted to know about cigars and more is available on-line. The magazine's cigar ratings are there, on more than 1,000 cigars by brand and by country of origin, by price category and rating score.

Cigar retailers can be searched by country, state, city and zip code.

You won't find the name of "El Dueno," or "Lone Queens" in the magazine, or on the Internet. These are brands of the past. Other brands of past included Honey Girls, Dick Custer, and Yellow Cab -- no connecton with the taxi company.

During the Roaring Twenties, there were no less than 27,000 cigar makers in the country. That list dwindled in the Depression-era Thirties, and today there are about 6,000 cigar makers in existence.