The history of smoking begins with the discovery of tobacco in a new light and the advent of cheap paper in which finely chopped and dried tobacco leaves can be wrapped. It is believed that for the first time, hand-rolled cigarettes appeared in Spanish port cities, where ships of the conquistadors from the New World returned, who brought various overseas miracles, including tobacco.
The aristocrats liked to smoke the twisted dried leaves of this plant and inhale the smoky aroma, while the poor got only pinches of finely chopped tobacco. Seville beggars quickly learned to make the likeness of cigarettes, wrapping handfuls of tobacco in newsprint scraps.
The fashion for hand-rolled cigarettes quickly spread throughout Europe. Then smoking homemade products were considered a sign of insolvency – respectable citizens could afford expensive cigars and cigarettes from the best varieties of tobacco.
At the end of the forties of the last century, after the end of the war, tobacco factories reopened, and the addiction to hand-rolled cigarettes began to decline – people preferred to smoke “civilized” and machine-made products.
The surge of interest in self-rolled cigarettes and cigarettes all over the world came in the 60s, during the heyday of the hippie movement. The protest against mechanical production, the denial of traditional values, a return to nature, made it fashionable to independently manufacture various household products, incl. cigarettes. The gradual decline of the hippie movement has led to the unpopularity of the roll-up.
Nowadays, connoisseurs of tobacco smoking have begun to return to roll-ups, since they have the following advantages:
- you can use exactly those types of tobacco that are to the liking of the smoker;
- unlike a machine-made product, there are no extra flavors, dyes, carcinogens in the roll-up;
- Rolling a cigarette is cheaper than buying a pack of cigarettes.
Making rolls
According to smokers, the process of self-folding a cigarette is a pleasure. You can make a roll-up yourself or use a special machine. For production, you will need paper, cigarette, rice, hemp or cigarette, tobacco of the desired type or a mixture of varieties, filters, and a machine for rolling cigarettes, if a beginner smoker does not know how to quickly roll a good quality hand-rolled cigarette.
How to choose paper
Newsprint or any other paper with the presence of printing ink is not suitable for rolling rolls. When burning, it begins to release carcinogenic substances, resins, poisons, which can lead to cancer of the upper respiratory tract and lungs. Therefore, you should look for special smoking paper that does not contain harmful substances that are activated during combustion but burns slowly enough so that the tobacco smolders for a long time, and the smoker can enjoy its taste and aroma.
Properly cut tissue paper with a sticky edge is sold in specialized tobacco shops. It can be purchased by personally visiting the selected institution, or by ordering the product via the Internet. Experienced smokers always keep a few sheets of paper in reserve – it often happens that a cigarette is unsuccessful, with a torn edge. You can stick it up with an adhesive strip from another piece of tissue paper.
How to choose tobacco
Novice smokers should be very responsible when purchasing tobacco. The taste, aroma of a roll-up depends on the right choice. It is recommended to select varieties with a minimum amount of flavoring additives. You can buy a special roll-up mix or use pipe tobacco. It should be borne in mind that pipe tobacco is cut larger than cigarette tobacco, contains more water, and therefore cakes faster. Therefore, if large-cut tobacco was purchased, then, before making a roll-up, it should be additionally crushed and dried. For storing tobacco, it is best to use a special pouch, in which it is convenient to carry it with you and roll the cigarette anywhere.
Self-production of a roll
Many smokers prefer to roll cigarettes in person, without using a typewriter. There is nothing complicated in this process, you just need to follow the following sequence of actions:
- Prepare a surface on which to roll the cigarette. This is usually a clean wooden board.
- Pour a handful of tobacco mixture from the pouch, shape it into a cigarette.
- Take a piece of paper in your hands, shape it into a groove, hold it so that the edge with the adhesive strip is at the top.
- Fill the paper “chute” with tobacco, gently pouring it along the entire length of the paper. The packing density is independently adjustable, but you need to know that the denser the cigarette is packed, the heavier it will smoke.
- Insert the filter at one end or leave a place for it not filled with tobacco. Many smokers prefer to smoke cigarette rolls without a filter, but this approach increases the risk of upper and lower respiratory cancer.
- Carefully roll the paper/tobacco chute into a cylindrical shape. You should try to tamp the tobacco as tightly as possible and roll the paper tighter.
- Lick the sticky edge of the paper and tape the entire length of the roll.
- Remove excess tobacco from the filter-free side of the cigarette.
- If the cigarette roll was rolled without a filter, then you need to bend one end to prevent the tobacco mixture from spilling out.
- Light a cigarette.
You can make yourself one or several rolls at once for future use.
Rules for smoking cigarettes
Smokers have developed their own norms of behavior when folding and smoking homemade products. These include the following rules:
- Never roll a cigarette with dirty hands.
- Do not make a lot of cigarettes “in reserve”. The whole ritual of making a roll-up should be enjoyable and not boring and obligatory.
- Do not try to roll a cigarette in transport or on the go. You will not be able to get any pleasure from a cigarette made in a hurry.
- Roll-ups are made only for yourself. You should not offer your family and friends a self-made cigarette.
Nowadays, the roll-up has ceased to be a sign of a poor person. On the contrary, the smoking of self-made cigarettes is preferred by wealthy people who can afford to purchase good tobacco, tissue paper, filters, and mechanical devices for folding the product. It is believed that hand-rolled cigarettes are smoked by people who prefer inner freedom and appreciate everything natural.