Smoking
How to put out a cigar
Lay the cigar in an ashtray and leave it alone. With nobody drawing on it, the coal runs out of air and dies within a few minutes. Don't stub it.
A cigar puts itself out
A cigar needs steady airflow from your puffs to stay lit, so once you stop drawing, the coal starves and goes out on its own.
A cigar is dense rolled leaf with no paper around it. Without your draw, there's little pulling air through. Leave one alone and it fades. That's the whole trick, and it's why so many cigars go out mid-conversation.
Boveda's guide on the subject says the same: rest the cigar in an ashtray and let it die naturally.
Why stubbing makes it worse
Stubbing a cigar crushes a wide, packed coal instead of snuffing it, which splits the wrapper and releases a burst of stale, acrid smoke.
A cigarette coal is tiny. One press and it's gone. A cigar coal is as wide as the ring gauge and backed by inches of packed leaf. Grind it and you break it open. Hot filler spills, smolders in the tray and stinks up the room. Boveda's guide warns that improper snuffing leads to "cracked wrappers, smooshed filler, and plenty of acrid off-flavors."
It also takes longer than you'd think. A crushed cigar often keeps smoldering inside the mess.
Letting it die, step by step
Putting out a cigar properly takes under a minute of your time and a few minutes of waiting.
- Take your last puff. Then stop. Even one more draw feeds the coal.
- Slide the band off if you want to keep it. It comes away easily from a warm cigar.
- Lay it flat in a rest. Foot over the bowl, head clear of the ash.
- Leave it. No tapping, no pressing. A few minutes and the smoke thins to nothing.
- Check it cold. Wait until the foot shows no glow and no wisp before anything goes in a bin.
How long until it's safe to throw away?
A cigar can look dead well before it is cold, so give it at least 10 minutes after the last wisp, then wet it.
Boveda suggests waiting at least 10 minutes after the cigar seems out, so no lingering ember lights the trash. The US Fire Administration goes a step further for all smoking materials: "Put water on the ashes and butts to make sure they are really out before you put them in the trash."
Its numbers explain the caution. The USFA reports 7,800 residential smoking fires in 2021, with 275 deaths. A thick cigar stub holds heat inside the leaf longer than it looks. Wet it, then bin it.
Putting a cigar out away from home
Away from home the rule doesn't change: let the cigar die where its heat can't reach anything, then pack out the stub.
| Where you are | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Home patio or deck | Leave it in a heavy, wide ashtray until cold | Drop it in a planter or a dry-leaf pile |
| Lounge | Lay it in the tray rest and walk away | Crush it in a shared tray |
| Golf course or park | Use a sand-filled ash bucket where one is provided | Grind it out in the grass |
| Car | Let it die in a deep car ashtray or a lidded metal tin | Toss it out the window |
| Campsite or beach | Let it die, wet it, then pack it out | Bury it in sand while it still glows |
The USFA advises putting smoking materials out "in an ashtray or bucket with sand." Boveda calls tossing a butt out of a car window littering and dangerous. Both hold for cigars. Lounge manners around finished cigars are in cigar etiquette.
Can you save a half-smoked cigar?
Yes, if you come back to it within a few hours, though it won't taste quite as it did.
Let it go out on its own, same as above. Don't stub it if you plan to finish it: a crushed foot won't relight cleanly. Set it somewhere open to the air, and keep it out of your humidor. A smoked cigar carries stale smoke that the cedar and the other cigars will pick up.
When you come back, tap the ash, blow gently through the head to clear old smoke, and retoast. After a long gap, trim the charred end first. The relighting guide has a time-out table showing how much flavor survives the wait.
Overnight? Usually not worth it. Boveda's guide makes the same call: after a cigar has sat out for an extended period, it's not worth relighting. Smoke a smaller one next time. The smoke time estimator helps you pick one that fits the hour you have.
Water works, with a catch
Dunking a cigar in water puts it out instantly, but it turns the stub into a soggy, smelly mess and wrecks any chance of finishing it.
Use water as the last step before the bin, after the cigar has died in the tray. That's what the USFA advice is for. As a first move, it's overkill.
One more tell: if you're putting out cigars half-smoked again and again because they turn harsh, look at how you're pacing them and how they're stored. The smoking walkthrough covers pace.
Putting out a cigar, asked often
How do you put out a cigar fast?
Knock the glowing coal off against the inside of the tray, then let the stub cool. Without the coal, there is nothing left burning.
Is it bad to stub out a cigar?
It works, but crushing the coal splits the wrapper, smears hot filler and releases a sharp, stale smell. Letting it die in the tray is cleaner.
When is a cigar safe to put in the trash?
Once it is cold. Boveda suggests waiting at least 10 minutes after it seems out, and the US Fire Administration says to put water on ashes and butts before they go in the trash.
Can you save a half-smoked cigar for later?
Yes, within a few hours. Let it go out on its own, keep it away from your humidor, and purge and retoast it when you come back.
Where the putting-out advice comes from
- How to put out a cigar, Boveda
- Smoking fire safety, U.S. Fire Administration