After you have relaxed over a smoke of your favourite cigar, it is time to stop and extinguish it properly. Your initial thought might be to treat your burnt-out cigar like a cigarette but this is not the right way to approach it. Simply stubbing out cigars releases a very unpleasant smell and it ends up lingering on your clothes and around the area.
Remove the band
It’s the ultimate debate: to keep or remove the cigar band. It doesn’t really matter whether you decide to remove or keep the cigar band on when smoking. However, when it comes to getting rid of your cigar, you should always remove the cigar band and dispose of it in the bin.
Place it in an ashtray
Cigars are made of pure tobacco leaf which means they will naturally burn out quickly and in a short amount of time. When you are finished with your cigar, just place it in the middle of an ashtray and let it burn out.
Make sure your cigar is out before you leave
Although your cigar will burn out quickly, you should always stay with it until it has completely burnt out. Lit cigars are fire hazards. As cigars burn, embers can move outside of the ashtray adding the risk of igniting nearby objects. You should make sure you place the cigar in the middle of the ashtray where it cannot roll onto the floor.
Dispose properly
If you are out and about cigar smoking, you might be tempted to toss it onto the floor but again, this imposes fire risks. Even if you think the cigar is fully extinguished, it may be burning inside still and ignite other littered items.
If you don’t have time to wait for your cigar to burn out, you can submerge the lit end into a cup of water, or hold it under running water to put it out more quickly.
Can I save a partially smoked cigar for later?
So you have enjoyed a short smoke but your cigar still has lots to give. Can you save a half-smoked cigar for later? The simple answer is, yes you can put out a cigar and pick it back up later.
There are a few things you need to do if you want to save a cigar for later:
- Cut an inch behind the ash line on the foot to ensure it is clean.
- Place the cigar on a paper towel and let it air-dry
- To preserve freshness, place it in an airtight container or reseal it in the original cigar wrapper.
- Before lighting your half-smoked cigar, blow into it to remove any impurities that may have built up over time.
One thing to remember is to keep the half-smoked cigar away from any new cigars. Used cigars will have a different level of humidity and can be susceptible to mould and other issues, so placing them back in your regular humidor can affect your new cigars.
Hopefully, you now know the best way to put out a lit cigar most effectively and safely. We are the experts on cigars so don’t forget to browse our quality collection of Cuban cigars and cigar accessories.
