A question about smoking.

DaveyR

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Paul and I have both smoked since we were teenagers (around 30 years) and have always smoked branded cigarettes. We were discussing smoking and brands with a couple of friends last week and they told us why they changed rolling their own cigarettes. They changed to rolling their own whilst still living in the UK to cut costs. They are around £50 a carton of 200 in the UK and €10 a carton here in Tenerife so I asked why they had continued with roll ups once they moved to Tenerife. They reckoned they smoked a lot less than they did when they used branded cigs and that roll ups are much less harmful. Notice I said less harmful and not that they are better for you :wink:

We went out and bought rolling tobacco, a rolling machine, filters and papers a few days ago to give it a try. Already I can see what they mean. They smell like pure tobacco without all the nasty chemicals and we are smoking about a third the quantity that we were previously. Paul and I were discussing it earlier and feel that they seem much less addictive than the ready made ones. It seems a chore to roll them so we just don't bother as much.

What are your thoughts on this? Has anyone else made the change and noticed the difference?

Please though spare me the lectures on stopping smoking. I've heard it all before and it does not wash with me. I'll stop if and when I want to.
 

B_Hickboy

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I quit 25 years ago, so I don't remember well. Prince Albert came with rolling papers, and I remember it making a pretty good smoke. I mostly smoked filterless camels because they tasted good and it was convenient to buy them. I can see where the hand-rolled things would provide you with fewer opportunities to smoke, unless you roll up a week's supply at a sitting.
 

Mem

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My father stopped smoking in the 80's when a cousin of his got lung cancer. I was very proud of him, and very happy.

My Brother-in-law smokes, but never inside the house. He smokes off brand cigarettes to save money. They are very expensive in NJ. I have seen ads for off brand cigs here in Florida for $12 a carton.
 
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DaveyR

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I tried hand rolled cigs for a while, but found it too time consuming. With a pack of smokes recently going over $7 a pack here, I may be trying again soon.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Well the money is not an issue here as we have special taxation status here in the Canary Islands. Like I said the duty is minimal and they are around €10 a carton.

What about the additives and harmful effects. Do hand rolled fare better?
 

ManlyBanisters

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Well - they can still put shite in the rolling tobacco to effect how it tastes and burns and so on - but I have no idea which brands may be 'purer' than others. Maybe do some research - just pick up the packets and read. In France and Ireland (and EU wide I believe) manufacturers are required to put the exact contents of the cigarette / tobacco on the side of the packet. At least one thing you get out of the equation is the filter - they certainly used to put all sorts of shite in that to make a 'smoother' smoke.

I really couldn't say if rollies are less harmful - I think they have different harmful effects - for example there is no filter at all (regardless of whether it has bad shit in it or not) so you are getting all the tar and what-knot that is there direct. I guess if they do make you smoke less they are at least doing that much for you - on a drag for drag comparison though I'm willing to bet any difference there is depends heavily on brand and is negligible anyway.
 

Flashy

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Well the money is not an issue here as we have special taxation status here in the Canary Islands. Like I said the duty is minimal and they are around €10 a carton.

What about the additives and harmful effects. Do hand rolled fare better?

well, i quit 7 1/2 years ago, but before that i had smoked for 15 years or so and i wish that instead of smoking a brand cigarette (Marlboro Mediums) that i had wised up and smoked a natural brand like "American Spirit"

hand rolled does not matter if the tobacco you are using is not a "natural blend" or does not have high standards for their tobacco.

I refer to "american spirit" brand, because they do not contain all the horrible other stuff that the big brand names contain.

(i would advise you to chek out their website just for a quick read on the difference between their natural tobacco, and that which is used by the major brands with all the chemicals and additives)

so it depends on the brand of tobacco that you are actually using in your rolled cigarettes.

I know when i think back of probably the 150,000+(easy) cigarettes i smoked in my life i really wished i had selected American Spirit as my brand because i do not want to think about all the excess crap i smoked that was probably horrible...(not to mention the fact that thte big brands add in a chemical that makes the cigarettes burn faster, so you smoke more of them)

anyway, as i said, it depends on the tobacco that you are using in your hand-rolled smokes.
 

got_lost

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I took up hand rolling 2 years ago, to save money.

I don't have a machine to make them and I don't use filters though I do use a roach.


That said, I've spent a lot of time in the states in the last year and do have to admit to buying ready made ones there cos (a) they are soooo much cheaper and (b) people kept giving me funny looks when I roll my own over there! :biggrin1:

I prefer rolled, as long as it's with nice tobacco.
I bought some stuff in america that was fowl! :eek:

But I love my 'golden virginia'!

I like rolling them and they take longer to smoke than a bought one and, imo, they're just more enjoyable.

Also I smoke much less of them.


Rolling wins. But lose the machine! :rofl:
 

MarkLondon

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I think smoking hand-rolled is a little less hazardous than factory-made. But having to roll them doesn't limit the amount I smoke. Though in a non-smoking environment, the act of rolling can postpone the need to actually smoke one (aren't addictions odd?).

I also use fine-weight papers with little or no saltpetre (the chemical that keeps them burning). That means they go out if I put them down, which means they don't get wasted or pollute the air when I'm not actively smoking.

Non-smokers generally find my smoke less offensive than packet cigarettes. They used to position me between them and the other smokers at the office parties in the days when you could smoke in restaurants.

Cost was the main consideration when I switched, but it didn't take long to prefer roll-ups. If I'm offered a factory-made ciggie, I'll usually say "No thank you. They make me cough."

Mind you, my French packets say "Tabac 91%. Agents de saveur et de texture 9%". Though Belgian ones don't. I rarely buy tobacco in the UK.

I recently met a pipe-smoker and have tried a pipe or two myself. Now that does strike me as less adictive. You don't inhale, you just savour the smoke in your mouth. The nicotine hit is gentler and the whole process is more involved and relaxing.