Tobacco.org

• The burning issue of a big, fat cigar 

Last Saturday night at Moghul, an Indian restaurant in Itaewon, 20 cigaristas met to compare their smokes over a glass or two of wine or Coke. It was the monthly meeting of the Seoul Cigar Aficionado Society. As a light rain fell in the dark outside, the room which the smokers had taken over for the night was filled with the tranquil scent of burning cigar. They sat under what looked like a tent, a temporary structure made of transparent plastic. (The idea is to isolate the smell of the cigars from other diners.) Oddly enough, the bad weather didn¡¯t irritate the gathered smokers. On the contrary, the makeshift lodgings created a cheery atmosphere. ¡°We smoke cigars to unwind and to socialize,¡± said Jonathan Muniz, 36, a U.S. military serviceman who traveled down from Panmunjeom to participate in his first meeting at the club. . . .

Kim Il-soon, chairman of the Korean Association of Smoking and Health, said despite rumors that cigars are less risky to health than cigarettes, smoking cigars does pose a health threat to the smoker and to people around them

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