BURBANK : ‘Cigar Czar’ Knighted by German Town

As one of the world’s foremost writers on the pleasures of tobacco, Richard Carleton Hacker has long been known as the “cigar czar.” But now, his fellow smoking enthusiasts may have to start calling him “sir.”

Hacker, author of “The Ultimate Cigar Book” and “The Ultimate Pipe Book,” received perhaps the ultimate honor for his continuing efforts to educate smokers on the cultural history of pipes and cigars when the small German town of Miltenberg dubbed him a knight in November.

“The ceremony was in a 16th-Century courthouse, and there were medieval trumpets blaring,” Hacker said. “For someone like myself who loves history, it was wonderful. It was like going back in time.”

Why would a small German town that was granted the powers of knighthood under the rule of the kaisers bestow such an honor on him?

In Germany, Britain and other parts of Europe, Hacker has become something of a celebrity over the past decade. His unabashed love for fine tobaccos, fine whiskeys and other guilty pleasures has generated a following in Europe, where such pleasures aren’t considered quite so guilty.

“They look upon smoking differently there. It’s much more open,” Hacker said.

He recalled attending a meeting of the International Smokers Assn. in Austria several years ago where, after dinner, the other members casually pulled out their pipes in the restaurant and lit up.

“I said in America, the land of the free, we can’t do this. They were shocked,” Hacker said.

Not surprisingly, Hacker isn’t a big fan of the laws that have been implemented in recent years to curb smoking in public places.

Just as Queen Victoria’s ban on public smoking in England led smokers to congregate for private smoking sessions, so too are today’s outcast pipe and cigar enthusiasts forming private clubs, which Hacker calls “smoke-easies.”

Also popular are “smokers,” where patrons gather for a multi-course royal feast, accompanied by fine whiskeys and cigars, and where Hacker often makes speaking appearances.

“I had to limit myself to two smokers a month,” Hacker said.

At one time he was attending several such events a week, and it caused his blood cholesterol to shoot way up. He also limits himself to two cigars a day and recommends moderation in tobacco use.

An Arizona native, Hacker said he first smoked pipes and cigars in college because of the look of success and stature he said they offered. Later, he worked in advertising for a national chain of tobacco stores, where he became acquainted with the heads of cigar and pipe-making companies throughout the world.

He and his wife, Joan, who are staying in Burbank while their Sherman Oaks home undergoes earthquake-related repairs, twice took out a second mortgage on their house to pay for the publication of his first book in 1984 and another in 1992. It paid off. Both books have undergone multiple printings, and “The Ultimate Pipe Book” has been a bestseller in Britain and Germany.

Although times may be tough for smokers, Hacker believes today’s anti-smoking laws will be lifted, just as Victoria’s smoking ban and prohibition were removed. And he hopes more people someday will agree with him that there are benefits to pipe and cigar-smoking.

“A good cigar or pipe is a stress reliever. It relaxes you,” he said.