Cigar ash, also known as cigarette ash, is the ash produced by tobacco products as it is smoked.
Cigar ash, also known as cigarette ash, is the ash produced by tobacco products as it is smoked.
Connoisseurs of cigars disagree as to whether the quality of a cigar may be determined from the appearance of its ash. [1]
Cigar ash may be mixed with chalk to make a dentifrice or tooth powder. It may also be mixed with poppyseed oil to make paint in shades of grey. [2]
Usually, during smoking, the ash is an unwanted product that is to be disposed of. An ashtray is used to dispose of ashes and butts without creating a fire hazard. Once it is certain that any burning has been extinguished, the ashtray contents are disposed of.
The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was an expert in the study of cigar ash and wrote a monograph, Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos, about it. This expertise was used in his cases such as A Study in Scarlet , The Boscombe Valley Mystery and The Hound of the Baskervilles . This is often used as an example of deduction or the Baconian method in philosophical accounts of science and reasoning. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent variant N. rustica is also used in some countries.
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder leaf which holds the filler together, and a wrapper leaf, which is often the highest quality leaf used. Often there will be a cigar band printed with the cigar manufacturer's logo. Modern cigars can come with two or more bands, especially Cuban cigars, showing Limited Edition bands displaying the year of production.
A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or a herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, different smoking method, and paper wrapping, which is typically white.
Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed to have begun as early as 5000–3000 BC in Mesoamerica and South America. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 17th century by European colonists, where it followed common trade routes. The practice encountered criticism from its first import into the Western world onwards but embedded itself in certain strata of a number of societies before becoming widespread upon the introduction of automated cigarette-rolling apparatus.
Rolling paper is a specialty paper used for making cigarettes. Rolling papers are packs of several cigarette-size sheets, often folded inside a cardboard wrapper. They are also known as 'blanks', which are used to encase tobacco or cannabis. It may be flavoured.
Kretek are cigarettes of Indonesian origin, made with a blend of tobacco, cloves, and other flavors. They are available filtered or unfiltered. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves.
An ashtray is a receptacle for ash from cigarettes, cigars, and other smokable products. Ashtrays typically are made of fire-retardant material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or stone. It differs from a cigarette receptacle, which is specifically for discarding cigarettes after being smoked.
Nicotiana rustica, commonly known as Aztec tobacco or strong tobacco, is a rainforest plant in the family Solanaceae native to South America. It is a very potent variety of tobacco, containing up to nine times more nicotine than common species of Nicotiana such as Nicotiana tabacum. More specifically, N. rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas N. tabacum leaves contain about 1 to 3%. The high concentration of nicotine in its leaves makes it useful for producing pesticides, and it has a wide variety of uses specific to cultures around the world. However, N. rustica is no longer cultivated in North America, as N. tabacum has replaced it.
Cuban cigars are cigars manufactured in Cuba from tobacco grown within that island nation. Historically regarded as among the world's "finest", they are synonymous with the island's culture and contribute over one quarter of the value of all exports from the country. The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different areas of the island, though much is produced in Pinar del Río province, in the regions of Vuelta Abajo and Semi Vuelta, as well as in farms in the Viñales region. All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by state-owned Cubatabaco. The Cuban cigar is also referred to as El Habano.
Tobacco products, especially when smoked or used orally, have serious negative effects on human health. Smoking and smokeless tobacco use are the single greatest causes of preventable death globally. Half of tobacco users die from complications related to such use. Current smokers are estimated to die an average of 10 years earlier than non-smokers. The World Health Organization estimates that, in total, about 8 million people die from tobacco-related causes, including 1.3 million non-smokers due to secondhand smoke. It is further estimated to have caused 100 million deaths in the 20th century.
A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retail business that sells tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specialized retailers might sell ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones related to tobacco are commonly offered. Items irrelevant to tobacco such as puzzles, games, figurines, hip flasks, walking sticks, and confectionery are sometimes sold.
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a public health strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Tobacco smoking is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death, and reducing smoking is vital to public health.
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have been rolled with a small rectangle of paper into an elongated cylinder called a cigarette. Other forms of smoking include the use of a smoking pipe or a bong.
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free. The smoking rate in New Zealand was about 8% as of 2023 when the new government planned to eliminate the nation's smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
The history of smoking dates back to as early as 5000 BC in the Americas in shamanistic rituals. With the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century, the consumption, cultivation, and trading of tobacco quickly spread. The modernization of farming equipment and manufacturing increased the availability of cigarettes following the reconstruction era in the United States. Mass production quickly expanded the scope of consumption, which grew until the scientific controversies of the 1960s, and condemnation in the 1980s.
Inflight smoking is the act of smoking tobacco on an aircraft while in flight. While once prevalent, it is now prohibited by almost all airlines and by many governments around the world. The bans on inflight smoking have been imposed in a piecemeal manner around the world beginning in the 1980s. The use of electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is also prohibited.
Tobacco has a long cultural, economic, and social history in the United States. Tobacco cultivation near Jamestown, Virgina Colony, in 1610 was the beginning of the plant's development as a cash crop with a strong demand in England. By the beginning of the 18th century, tobacco became a significant economic force in the American colonies, especially in Virginia's tidewater region surrounding Chesapeake Bay. Vast plantations were built along rivers, and socioeconomic systems were developed to grow and distribute the crop. In 1713, the Virginia General Assembly passed a Tobacco Act requiring the inspection of all tobacco intended for export or for use as legal tender. American tobacco farmers sold their crops on consignment to merchants in London, which required them to take out loans for farm expenses from London guarantors in exchange for tobacco delivery and sale. As the demand for tobacco grew in continental Europe, further colonization and tobacco production in British America saw a parallel increase, and tobacco cultivation spread into Britain's other Southern Colonies and beyond. A brisk trade developed among wholesalers in Charleston and New Orleans to ship tobacco to London merchants. Tobacco use had also become common in early American society and was heavily consumed before and after the declaration of American independence in 1776.
Smokingamong youth and adolescents is an issue that affects countries worldwide. While the extent to which smoking is viewed as a negative health behavior may vary across different nations, it remains an issue regardless of how it is perceived by different societies. The United States has taken numerous measures, ranging from changes in national policy surrounding youth cigarette access to changes in media campaigns, in attempts to eliminate the use of tobacco products among teenagers. Approximately 90% of smokers begin smoking prior to the age of 18.
A cigarette receptacle is a container or device for extinguishing and disposing of cigarette waste. Other common names for cigarette receptacles include: ash urns, ash pans, cigarette butt receptacles, butt bins, butt holders, snuffers, smokers poles, cigarette waste receptacles, smokers waste receptacles, and ash/trash combinations.