Expert: James Yee - 8/24/2010

Question
Hi James,

We have experienced beautiful weather this summer and hence, I have been smoking a hell of a lot more than usual. All summer, I have enjoyed and looked forward to smoking daily on the patio. All cigars have tasted great, one better than the next!! (I smoke Cubans exclusively)

Recently, it seems that my passion and taste for cigars has just mysteriously disappeared... I don't feel like smoking and when I force myself to, the same cigars that I once loved, I end up putting out halfway and not even care.

What the hell is going on??????

Answer
Hi Thomas,

Cigar smokers can indeed suffer from smoker's stress.  It's hard to pinpoint the exact cause of this but if/when we smoke too many cigars, our cigars won't taste as good as they used to and we feel less excited about smoking.

My best advice is to cut back on your smoking.  If you smoke one cigar a day, try only smoking a cigar every other day or every few days.  The less frequent you smoke, the more excited you will be when you do smoke and this will hopefully make your cigars more enjoyable again.

The best thing to do is not force yourself to smoke when you don't want to.  If you don't feel excited about smoking or your cigars don't taste as good as they used to, taking a break from your cigars will really help.  It's like work or anything else in life; if you begin to feel stressed out by something, take some time away from it and you'll feel better.

It's very hard to determine what the cause of smoker's stress is because it's different for everyone.  If you're feeling burned out from cigars, take a break and let your cigar palate recuperate.  Let your senses rest and forget what smoking a cigar feels like and when you return to smoking, your cigars may taste incredible again.

I hope this helps!  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James