From the battlefields of history to the quiet solitude of a writer’s desk, cigars have long been companions of thinkers, dreamers, leaders, and artists. They have inspired eloquent words, colourful anecdotes, and witty one-liners from some of the world’s most memorable figures.
At Simply Cigars, we’ve compiled some of the best-known and most surprising cigar quotes—from statesmen and literary giants to musicians, Hollywood stars, and modern personalities. These quotations reflect not only the pleasure of a good Cuban cigar but also the culture, rituals, and symbolism that surround cigar smoking.
If you feel we’ve missed a favourite or you’d like to add your own, please leave a comment—we’d love to hear it.
Classic Wit & Literary Charm
- “When on occasion I’m asked by groups of aspiring writers what they should do to get on, my advice is always, emphatically, smoke. Smoke often and smoke with gusto… no non-smoker is worth reading.”
— A.A. Gill, Sunday Times, July 1999 - “Tobacco is the plant that converts thoughts into dreams.”
— Victor Hugo - “A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.”
— Rudyard Kipling - “The most futile and disastrous day seems well spent when it is reviewed through the blue, fragrant smoke of a Havana Cigar.”
— Evelyn Waugh - “If smoking cigars is not permitted in heaven, I won’t go.”
— Mark Twain
Leaders, Revolutionaries & Statesmen
- “Gentlemen, you may smoke.”
— King Edward VII of England, overturning Queen Victoria’s court ban. - “I must point out that my rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after, and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.”
— Winston Churchill (1874–1965), during a meeting with King Ibn Saud. - “There is nothing more agreeable than having a place where one can throw on the floor as many cigar butts as one pleases without the subconscious fear of a maid who is waiting like a sentinel to place an ashtray where the ashes are going to fall.”
— Fidel Castro - “The Christians met on the way many people… with a firebrand in the hand, and certain weeds whose smoke they inhale… burning a part of it, from the other part they suck or absorb the smoke with breathing.”
— Christopher Columbus, from his Navigation Diary (1492, first European description of cigars)
Celebrities & Cultural Icons
- “The only way to break a bad habit was to replace it with a better habit.”
— Jack Nicholson, on why he switched from cigarettes to cigars. - “Given the choice between a woman and a cigar, I will always choose the cigar.”
— Groucho Marx - “A good Havana is one of the best pleasures I know.”
— Somerset Maugham - “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 - “Asthma doesn’t seem to bother me any more unless I’m around cigars or dogs. The thing that would bother me most would be a dog smoking a cigar.”
— Steve Allen
Musicians, Poets & Artists
- “A good Cuban cigar closes the doors to the vulgarities of the world.”
— Franz Liszt - “The cigar smoker, like the perfect lover or bagpipe player, is a calm man, slow and sure of his wind.”
— Marc Alyn - “The cigar must match the shape of the smoker. Round-faced people should avoid long, thin cigars and vice-versa.”
— Kees Van Dongen - “A Havana Cigar is to the art of smoking what a great wine is to the art of drinking.”
— Alain Senderens - “Heaven is a large Havana cigar with black coffee for breakfast.”
— Rev. Thaddeus Birchard
Additional Quotes to Enrich the Collection
- “Cigars served me for precisely the same purpose as a cradle does a baby — to soothe and quiet and make me content.”
— Mark Twain - “Smoking cigars is like falling in love; first you are attracted by its shape, you stay for its flavour, and you must always remember never to let it completely burn out.”
— Winston Churchill - “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
— Sigmund Freud - “A cigar ought not to be smoked solely with the mouth, but with the hand, the eyes, and with the spirit.”
— Zino Davidoff
Conclusion
These quotes show how cigars have long inspired not only pleasure but also passion, philosophy, and humour. From literary giants like Hugo and Twain, to political leaders like Churchill and Castro, to Hollywood stars and musicians, the cigar remains more than tobacco—it’s a symbol of leisure, reflection, and sometimes rebellion.
At Simply Cigars, we celebrate this tradition. So light up, reflect, and enjoy the words of those who found meaning and joy in the simple, fragrant smoke of a fine Havana.