Cigar

A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Big Boss and Liquid Ocelot were known to smoke cigars.

The Boss
Renowned American soldier The Boss once smoked cigars, though she quit sometime prior to the events of the Virtuous Mission.

Big Boss


In late 1964, Naked Snake carried Habano-brand Cuban cigars with him during the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater. He was annoyed whenever people either mistake cigars for cigarettes or treated both as the same thing. Immediately prior to making his HALO jump in the Virtuous Mission, Snake smoked a cigar in the back of the plane, much to the annoyance of his instructor and Major Zero, before stamping it out. After Snake was hospitalized following the first mission's failure, Zero visited him in an ICU, and provided him with a cigar. Aside from recreational use, Snake also used them to burn leeches from his body, and as an improvised torch in darkened areas.

While meeting with clients prior to the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, Snake's lighter stopped working in the rainy weather in Colombia, and he was unable to smoke a cigar. Ramón Gálvez Mena then offered him the use of his own lighter, which was built into the forefinger of his prosthetic hand. Snake later supplied FSLN comandante Amanda Valenciano Libre with a Cuban cigar after rescuing she and her troops in Rio del Jade, Costa Rica. Amanda's brother Chico intended to smoke one of Snake's cigars after he was seemingly given one, though Snake immediately snatched it back when it was lit, telling Chico that it wasn't for kids. Following Gálvez's death, Snake continued to use his prosthetic hand as a cigar lighter. Big Boss continued smoking cigars in the 1980s, after he came out of his coma. He smoked one while on a motorbike, ready to drive off, and one in Afghanistan while rescuing Kazuhira Miller from the Soviets. During the latter event, he used a special cigar known as a phantom cigar, which contained a medicinal herb that sped up his perception of time when smoked. He was later seen on Mother Base, with Quiet lighting it for him by shooting it with her rifle.

Big Boss smoked his last cigar with Solid Snake in 2014, while succumbing to the effects of the new FOXDIE virus.

Solidus Snake
During the Liberian Civil War in the 1980s, Solidus Snake smoked cigars.

Liquid Ocelot
During his 2014 insurrection against the Patriots, Liquid Ocelot smoked cigars in a manner similar to his "father," Big Boss.

Steven Armstrong
During 2018, the Colorado senator Steven Armstrong frequently smoked cigars. He smoked a cigar when meeting up with Samuel Rodrigues before having his "final interview" with him in 2016, and later when meeting with Raiden in 2018 before fighting him with Metal Gear EXCELSUS, and later after beating Raiden to a pulp on EXCELSUS' wreck during their fight in Pakistan.

Behind the scenes
"Highly addictive and hazardous to your health."

- Cigars description in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The cigar that appears in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is most likely based off of the H. Upmann No.2; a favorite of President John F. Kennedy. Although the cigar brand Habano, as seen in-game, is fictitious, there is a real Cuban tobacco company called Habanos S.A. In function, it is almost identical to the cigarettes from previous games and slowly depletes the Life Gauge whenever it is equipped. However, Cigars also have additional uses, such as removing leeches in the Survival Viewer, driving away hornets, or providing some illumination in dark areas.

Although Naked Snake does not smoke in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, he does make up a story about intending to procure Colombian cigars for Major Ocelot, to explain why he knew the latter's radio frequency, upon contacting him. Similarly, although Big Boss was not shown smoking cigars in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker during gameplay, he does smoke them during various cutscenes.

Big Boss is sometimes seen smoking cigars inside an MSF helicopter between missions in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes but he does not smoke them during gameplay. In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Snake is shown smoking both a real cigar and electric cigar during cutscene promos. In a released screenshot, it's shown Venom/Punished Snake will be able to equip an electric cigar titled Phantom Cigar in gameplay. There is a brand name of cigar called Phantom in real life.

During the 12 Days of Metal Gear event, the seventh day had "5 Cigars Smoking", referring to Big Boss smoking them on the main menu.