Tunneling, a circumstance in which a cigar's wrapper leaf doesn't burn, causing a cave-like formation in the foot of the cigar, can be caused by several factors: The purpose of the binder leaf is to help all of the tobaccos burn at approximately the same rate. Therefore, if the wrapper is too moist, too thick, or too oily, it may not burn at the same rate as the filler and binder. (Maduro and Oscuro wrappers tend to be much oilier than most shade grown and other "natural" wrapper leaves.)
Another cause of tunneling is when the wrapper is not neatly rolled around the bunch causing a gap between the wrapper and binder. It may not be noticeable to the naked eye, but all the wrapper needs is a minuscule bit of gap between it and the binder to cause tunneling. There is also a condition called "double bunching." If a cigar is properly rolled all the leaves will "fall into line" when its lit and you'll get a nice clean ash. It's a rare occurrence, but what happens is, during the bunching process the binder gets doubled back causing it to be too thick. Because there is now "more" combustible tobacco in the mix, the cigar will tunnel.
Finally, make sure you get a good even burn at the foot when lighting your cigars. The leaf at the center, normally the Ligero, burns slowest, so if the surrounding tobaccos burn properly you should get a well-formed cone or "cherry" when you tap off the ash.
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This is a major problem with premium cigars. My biggest issue is that it seems to happen with specific makers, and that most of the box will tunnel. It is like trying to smoke a tobacco straw.
One highly coveted brand is consistently underfilled. Gary's reasons may also play into this, but I'll be damned that a major manufacturer can't consistently roll a proper cigar. I have NEVER had a Padron tunnel, and I have smoked literally thousands. Fuente, maybe two, at most, having smoked thousands as well.
If Gary's reasons are the case with the cigars I am referring to, then why haven't the manufacturers tweaked the blend to facilitate a proper burn? What good is a certain flavor profile if you only experience it with 5 cigars out of a box of 20 or 25? The rest turn to crap from constant relights, or attempts to straighten the burn. I can look at the foot of these cigars, and sure as hell, the center is very loose, with the tobacco bunching getting tighter as you go out towards the wrapper.
These cubanesque smokes are cuban like alright, in that the rolling sucks, and they either tunnel, or are plugged. Just like so many cuban cigars. To add insult to injury, one of these blenders used to roll great cigars with wonderful flavors. All that went out the window, quality suffered, flavor became mediocre, all for the chance to be a monster manufacturer. I stopped buying thise cigars years ago. Just too many headaches.
Bumping the humidity down to about 60 can help a little, but then your long term storage is compromised as you lose oleoresins at a much faster pace than at higher humidity. So, Keep your stash at 67 or so and then a small, ready to smoke, supply at 60 for a minimum of 3 weeks before attempting to light up. Bah!