Rolling paper

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Rolling paper is a specialty paper used for making cigarettes (commercially manufactured filter cigarettes and individually made roll-your-own 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. [1] It may be flavoured.

Contents

Rolling papers are also used for rolling cannabis cigarettes called joints.

Filter cigarette:
Cigarette filter
Imitation cork tip paper
Cigarette paper
Tobacco
Capsule (optional, not shown)
Ink (not shown)
Glue (not shown) Cigarette diagram.svg
Filter cigarette:
  1. Cigarette filter
  2. Imitation cork tip paper
  3. Cigarette paper
  4. Tobacco
  5. Capsule (optional, not shown)
  6. Ink (not shown)
  7. Glue (not shown)

History

1898 French cigarette paper advertisement poster Riz Abadie Affiche (1898).jpg
1898 French cigarette paper advertisement poster

Paper cigarettes became popular in the second half of the 19th century, displacing the more expensive cigars and cigarillos.

As cigars and cigarillos were expensive, the beggars of Spain would collect the cigar butts from the ground and roll them in pieces of paper to be smoked. During the Crimean War this culture became more prevalent and British soldiers learned how to roll tobacco in newspapers. Frequent use of rolling paper became a custom, and to fulfil the need, rolling paper companies Pay-Pay, Smoking, and Rizla emerged. [2]

Composition

Cigarette paper is made from thin and lightweight "rag fibers" (nonwood plant fibers) such as flax, hemp, sisal, rice straw, and esparto. The paper is available in rolls and rectangular sheets of varying sizes, and has a narrow strip of glue along one long edge. It may be transparent, colored and flavored. It has a high filler content and a basis weight of 10-28 g/m2. To control the smoking properties, this paper has a porosity that is suited to the type of tobacco and contains additives that regulate burning. [3] One critical paper characteristic is permeability; its primary physical influence is smoke dilution. Among the fillers used are calcium carbonate to influence the permeability and color, magnesium carbonate to improve ash color, or titanium oxide if a particularly white ash is required. [4] Sodium potassium tartrate (Seignette's salt), sodium and potassium citrate are used as a combustion regulator in cigarette paper, increased levels result in faster burning papers. [5] Poly(vinyl alcohol) in aqueous solution is used for cigarette adhesives. [6]

A study of commercially available rolling papers found that concentrations of several elements, particularly copper, chromium, and vanadium in some products, may present a hazard to frequent users. [7] Of particular concern is the concentration of copper from pigments used in the papers might result in exposures as high as 4.5–11 times the maximum exposure limits. [7]

Permeability is defined as the measure of the volume of air that flows through a specified area of cigarette paper in a given unit of time. It is measured in CORESTA units. US commercial filter cigarette brands have paper permeability between 14 and 51 CORESTA units. Increased cigarette paper permeability results in increased smoke dilution with air. [8]

Fire-resistant cigarettes, which reduce the risk of fire from unattended cigarettes, are made with special paper that includes a plastic compound, ethylene vinyl acetate. If a cigarette made with this type of paper is left unattended, the plastic in the paper will help the cigarette self-extinguish.

Other specialty papers for tobacco products are:

Consumption

United States

Rolling paper from Nypa fruticans leaf Rukok On.JPG
Rolling paper from Nypa fruticans leaf

In 2008, Tobacconist Magazine called roll-your-own (RYO) the tobacco industry's fastest growing segment. It estimates that 2–4% of cigarette smokers in the United States, or approximately 2.6 million people, make their own cigarettes. Many of these smokers have switched in response to increasingly high taxes on manufactured cigarettes. [10] [11]

Canada

In 2000, a Canadian government survey estimated that 9% of Canada's six million cigarette smokers smoked hand-rolled cigarettes "sometimes or most of the time", 7% smoked roll-your-owns "exclusively", and over 90% of rolling papers sold in Canada were for tobacco consumption.[ citation needed ][ needs update ] A more recent 2009 study has shown that approximately 925,000 Canadians roll their own cigarettes. [12]

Ungummed rolling paper packet from Lebanon Packet of cigarette rolling papers from Lebanon.jpg
Ungummed rolling paper packet from Lebanon

United Kingdom

According to The Publican, "Low price RYO has seen an astonishing rise of 175% in [2007] as cigarette smokers look for cheaper alternatives and to control the size of their smoke". [13] The National Health Service has reported that roll-your-own use has more than doubled since 1990, from 11% to 24%. Many of these smokers apparently believe that hand-rolled cigarettes are less harmful than manufactured products, [14] although it is equally possible that the increase is due to the steep rise in prices since the early-1990s to the present day. [15]

Thailand

In Thailand, smokers of roll-your-own cigarettes have long outnumbered smokers of manufactured brands. [16] A 2008 survey found that 58% of surveyed smokers in Thailand rolled their own cigarettes, compared to just 17% in neighbouring Malaysia. [17]

New Zealand

The New Zealand Ministry of Health reported in 2005 that: 'The ratio of roll-your-own to manufactured or tailor-made cigarettes consumed by New Zealanders has risen over (at least) the past decade, perhaps reflecting price differences between these products, and currently approaching 50 percent overall.' [18]

India

As the prices of cigarettes rise year after year, roll-your-own is becoming a trend among Indian smokers. Rolling papers and rolling tobacco are now easily accessible and can be bought at almost any Pan Shops in India.[ citation needed ]

Taxation

Consumers' switching to roll-your-own has led to a response among certain tax authorities. In the United States, Indiana and Kentucky tax rolling papers. Kentucky set its tax at $0.25 per pack (for up to 32 leaves, larger packs are taxed at $0.0078 per leaf) in 2006 despite complaints from manufacturers. Louisiana Revised Statute 47:338.261 allows up to $1.25 per pack at retail.

Regulation

United States

The FDA stated in 2011 that every brand (including private labels) of cigarette rolling papers sold in the US must submit their ingredients and seek agency approval or withdraw from the marketplace by March of that year if they had not been sold in the US before February 15, 2007. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roll-your-own cigarette</span> Cigarette assembled by the user as opposed to a manufacturer

A roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette, also called a handrolled cigarette, is a cigarette made from loose tobacco and rolling paper. Factory-made cigarettes are called industrial or tailor-made cigarettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigar</span> Rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette</span> Small roll of tobacco made to be smoked

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco smoke</span> Aerosol produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco

Tobacco smoke is a sooty aerosol produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco during the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Temperatures in burning cigarettes range from about 400 °C between puffs to about 900 °C during a puff. During the burning of the cigarette tobacco, thousands of chemical substances are generated by combustion, distillation, pyrolysis and pyrosynthesis. Tobacco smoke is used as a fumigant and inhalant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco smoking</span> Practice of burning tobacco and breathing the resulting smoke

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blunt (cigar)</span> Tobacco cigar type

A blunt is a cigar which is wider than a cigarillo and not quite as wide as a Corona, generally equivalent to a petit corona while short panatellas are sometimes classified as mini-blunts. These cigars typically consist of two main parts; the inner leaf, which is similar to a cigarette rolling paper, except it is made of tobacco, and a thicker outer leaf which is rolled around the inner leaf in a spiral. In most commercially available blunts, the "leaves" are not actual tobacco leaves but rather paper made from tobacco pulp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davidoff</span> Swiss tobacco brand

Davidoff is a Swiss premium brand of cigars, cigarettes and smoker's accessories. The Davidoff cigarette brand has been owned by Imperial Brands after purchasing it in 2006. The non-cigarette portion of the Davidoff tobacco brand is owned by Oettinger Davidoff AG, which is based in Basel, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarillo</span> Rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked

A cigarillo is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown, tobacco-based paper. Cigarillos are smaller than regular cigars but usually larger than cigarettes. Cigarillos are usually made without filters, and are meant to be smoked like a cigar and not inhaled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Masters (cigar)</span> Tobacco cigar brand

Dutch Masters is an American brand of natural wrapped cigars that has been sold since 1912. Its distinctive packaging features Rembrandt's 1662 painting Syndics of the Drapers' Guild. Dutch Masters cigars are currently manufactured and sold by Imperial Brands. They are machine-rolled cigars and come in two varieties: standard cigars and smaller cigarillos. Dutch Masters are a common choice for cannabis smokers who like to roll blunts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kretek</span> Type of Indonesian cigarette including cloves

Kretek are cigarettes of Indonesian origin, made with a blend of tobacco, cloves, and other flavors. It could be with filter or unfiltered. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beedi</span> South Asian Hand-Made Cigarette

A beedi is a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu or Piliostigma racemosum leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It originates from the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Marwari word beeda—a mixture of betel nuts, herbs, and spices wrapped in a leaf. It is a traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, where beedies are popular and inexpensive. In India, beedi consumption outpaces conventional cigarettes, accounting for 48% of all Indian tobacco consumption in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shag (tobacco)</span> Fine-cut tobacco

Shag, also known as baccy,rolling tobacco or loose tobacco, is fine-cut tobacco, used to make self-made cigarettes by hand rolling the tobacco into rolling paper or injecting it into filter tubes. It got its name from the finely cut strands appearing like 'shag' fabric and was originally considered poor quality. Various types of cut are used; most shag blends use a simple mixture of cutting styles, consisting mostly of loose cut but also krumble kake, ribbon cut and flake may be used. Some shag blends use cuts reminiscent of pipe tobacco. These were imported to the United Kingdom by Rory Innes following the Virginia tobacco plantations in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette filter</span> Filter in cigarettes that reduce nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide

A cigarette filter, also known as a filter tip, is a component of a cigarette, along with cigarette paper, capsules and adhesives. Filters were introduced in the early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backwoods Smokes</span> American cigarette brand

Backwoods is an American brand of cigars that was introduced in 1973. This product was notable during the 1970s and 1980s for heavy advertising, which became one of the more obvious examples of how companies at the time reacted to changing laws and cultural views on public health and smoking culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavored tobacco</span> Tobacco product with added flavorings

Flavored tobacco products — tobacco products with added flavorings — include types of cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars, hookahs and hookah tobacco, various types of smokeless tobacco, and more recently electronic cigarettes. Flavored tobacco products are especially popular with youth and have therefore become targets of regulation in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint (cannabis)</span> Cannabis cigarette, contains marijuana or hashish

A joint is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium in industrialized countries; however, brown paper, cigarettes or beedies with the tobacco removed, receipts and paper napkin can also be used, particularly in developing countries. Modern papers are manufactured in a range of sizes from a wide variety of materials including rice, hemp, and flax, and are also available in liquorice and other flavoured varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette taxes in the United States</span> Taxes imposed on sale of cigarettes in the U.S.

In the United States, cigarettes are taxed at both the federal and state levels, in addition to any state and local sales taxes and local cigarette-specific taxes. Cigarette taxation has appeared throughout American history and is still a contested issue today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blunt (cannabis)</span> Cigar filled with cannabis, or a fat cigar

A blunt is a cigar that has been hollowed out and filled with cannabis. It is rolled with the tobacco-leaf "wrap", usually from an inexpensive cigar, or any other wrap that is not a joint paper that has glue. A blunt is different from a joint, which uses rolling papers.

About a quarter of adults in Turkey smoke. Smoking in Turkey is banned in government offices, workplaces, bars, restaurants, cafés, shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and all forms of public transport, including trains, taxis and ferries. Turkey's smoking ban includes provisions for violators, where anyone caught smoking in a designated smoke-free area faces a fine of 188 Turkish lira (~€9.29/$9.90/£8.22) and bar owners who fail to enforce the ban could be fined from 560 liras for a first offence up to 5,600 liras. The laws are enforced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey.

References

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  7. 1 2 Wright, Derek; Jarvie, Michelle M.; Southwell, Benjamin; Kincaid, Carmen; Westrick, Judy; Perera, S. Sameera; Edwards, David; Cody, Robert B. (2024). "Elemental Composition of Commercially Available Cannabis Rolling Papers". ACS Omega. 9 (17): 19020–19030. doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c09580. PMC   11064008 . PMID   38708199.
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  10. Peterson, Iver (October 14, 2002). "Roll-Your-Owns Cut Taxes". The New York Times.
  11. TTB stats Archived 2009-05-12 at the Wayback Machine .
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  15. "Shop For E-Cigs, E-Liquids & Vapes with free UK delivery".
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