In spite of global economic worries, things are looking up for at least one luxury item: Cuban cigars experienced a 9% increase in sales last year, and that is something to puff about. Cuban cigars are still illegal in the U. S., but there are always ways around it. At one time, I had them sent by post from Davidoff in Switzerland, they were sent minus their bands, and always from a different individual with a different address. Of course, that was long ago and today I look back at the experience as a pleasant one, although certainly not worth the health risk one takes by smoking them.