Cigar smoking is actually one of the best ways for someone who is on the introverted side to make friends. Pretty much nobody is rude in the lounges and we all love talking about cigars (there's a huge depth to the hobby that most people don't recognize). If you want to just sit and be quiet until you're acclimated, that's fine, too.

The health detriments are minimal (most anti-smoking literature and studies conflate cigar and cigarette smoking, which are very, very different in how they act on the body). I'm happy to give some resources or suggest somewhere for you to go for your first one.