Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Smoking cigars or cigarettes is verboten most everywhere in this day and age but there are occasions when the cigar devotee should be cut some slack and allowed to indulge in this pleasure.

Cigar smoking has been enjoyed for years and years by men — and by some women (think Demi Moore.) People smoke cigars for various reasons: They taste and smell good. They make you look like you’re the head honcho.

Those who smoke cigars regularly use a humidor, which is a box where the cigars are stored and allowed to age in a setting that provides the ideal humidity range, and appreciate a variety of cigar-smoking accessories that lend a certain air of savoir faire to the ritual of cigar smoking.

Here is the Top 10 List of Special Occasions for Smoking Cigars:

10. Channeling the famous

If you’re doing a mean imitation of famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who reportedly smoked 20 cigars daily, or Fidel Castro, who actually quit smoking cigars after 44 years because he thought he was setting a poor example for the citizens of Cuba. After quitting, he admitted to dreaming about smoking cigars. So at least the health conscious Castro could enjoy a smoke while snoozing. We can’t forget the singer and comedian George Burns that started out in Vaudeville and always smoked a cigar during his act. He was quoted as saying, at the ripe old age of 98, “If I had taken my doctor’s advice and quit smoking when he advised me to, I wouldn’t have lived to go to his funeral.” Burns’ favorite cigar was El Producto.

9. Imitations

If you’re doing an even meaner imitation of Groucho Marx.

8. Card playing

When you’re playing poker.

7. Presidential hoodwinks

If you’re a certain former president dallying with a certain White House intern … okay, enough said.

6. During dinner

When you are eating: Of course, it’s next to impossible to find a restaurant where you can smoke nowadays so you may have to engage in this in the privacy of your home. The idea is to savor a cigar in between courses. Cigar aficionados report that cigars taste delightful after eating steak, Mexican food and Italian food. The cigar should be considered a condiment, like salt, and should complement the food you are consuming. The cigar shouldn’t be too strong that it overwhelms the food. The outcome is that the cigar and food enhance one another and make the food and the cigar better.

5. Sex

Before or after, take your pick. Apparently, some women think cigars are really sexy and a turn on. Some men apparently think they look really machismo (and sexy) when smoking. Hey, whatever works for you. The cigar is a phallic symbol. Just take a gander at it.

4. Heroic moments

When you blow up the alien spaceship (Independence Day).

3. Sports victories

When you are in your man cave and your team has won the game, this is an appropriate time to smoke cigars and it is certainly an occasion. That arm-chair coaching is exhausting, and you deserve a treat. Save your cigar boxes. They can be used for various purposes. This is called repurposing.

2. Weddings

One of the newest trends in wedding receptions is the cigar bar. Some newlyweds are creating a lounge area which is open during a portion of the reception. Men and women can go in and have a smoke. Hire a trained cigar roller to hand roll cigars for your guests. This will certainly be memorable.

1. Birth of child

When your child is born, this is the traditional and “acceptable” time to whip out a cigar and celebrate. Follow the age old tradition of lighting up in honor of your new baby. And you must dispense cigars to others, as well. Pink wrapped cigars (It’s a girl!) or blue wrapped cigars (It’s a boy!) are old school; real cigar smokers will appreciate a fine Montecristo or Romeo and Julieta.