European Pipe Tobacco: Additives or No?

[anotherbob]

I should maybe clarify. I'm not necessarily looking for unflavored or plain pipe tobacco, quite the opposite in fact, just tobacco that doesn't have unnecessary ingredients added to it that contribute greatly to health issues such as formaldehyde and things of that nature. You know, things that typical American cigarettes usually have. Also, the tobacconist said that the pipe tobacco they offer from overseas isn't labeled with the ingredients. They know what the brands are and such. I appreciate all the suggestions offered so far. Keep them coming!

yeah pipe tobacco doesn't really have any of that crap in it. At least not the vast majority (I don't know of any that do but I guess there might be a rare outlier).

 

[mingc]

I used to smoke Drum, and it always came very wet in the tin. Pre-rolled cigarettes, in a paper pack, on a shelf for a week isn't as wet.

Yes, but in my experience, RYOs, like pipe tobacco, self-extinguish even when dried to a crisp.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yes, but in my experience, RYOs, like pipe tobacco, self-extinguish even when dried to a crisp.

I do know that the major differences with cigarette tobaccos was that they would squeeze every drop of oils and liquids from the cellulose of the leaf, reformulate the tars and nicotine to whatever their brand level is, and then rehydrate the leaf. All sorts of fruit flavors are also added. But, I have never heard in all of my life that something was added to aid burning.

Hell, I have had carpet burn large holes in them from just a few loose ashes from my pipe.

 

[sardonicus87]

And for what it's worth, at least in America, all cigarettes are now required to be fire-safe (FSC - "fire standards compliant"). They actually make changes to make the cigarettes self-extinguish if you don't keep puffing on it, but it's not by additives but rather, by construction.

Fire-safe cigarette - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Fire-safe cigarettes are produced by adding two to three thin bands of less-porous cigarette paper along the length of the cigarette, creating a series of harder-to-burn “speed bumps”.[1] As the cigarette burns down, it will tend to be extinguished at each of these points unless the user is periodically intensifying the flame by inhaling.[1] Contrary to myth, FSC cigarettes use no more ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesive than conventional cigarettes, and its use as an adhesive predates the introduction of FSC technology.[2]

[...]

As of August 26, 2011, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had passed state legislation modeled on New York's original bill, mandating the sale of fire-safe cigarettes.[20] State laws generally contain provisions permitting the sale of non-FSCs that have been tax-stamped by wholesalers and retailers in the state prior to the effective date of the state's FSC law. The laws require cigarettes to exhibit a greater likelihood of self-extinguishing using the E2187 test from ASTM International.

But prior to that, I never heard of anything added that was designed to keep it burning.

 

[Scottmi]

You may be interested in this Vincent Manil Semois

updating via yoast

www.tobaccoreviews.com

 

[mingc]

I do know that the major differences with cigarette tobaccos was that they would squeeze every drop of oils and liquids from the cellulose of the leaf, reformulate the tars and nicotine to whatever their brand level is, and then rehydrate the leaf. All sorts of fruit flavors are also added. But, I have never heard in all of my life that something was added to aid burning.

Hell, I have had carpet burn large holes in them from just a few loose ashes from my pipe.

And for what it's worth, at least in America, all cigarettes are now required to be fire-safe (FSC - "fire standards compliant"). They actually make changes to make the cigarettes self-extinguish if you don't keep puffing on it, but it's not by additives but rather, by construction.

Fire-safe cigarette - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But prior to that, I never heard of anything added that was designed to keep it burning.

I can tell that you guys were not cigarette smokers in the glory days of the Marlboro Man! I gave them up in 2000, but back then if you lit a Big Tobacco pre-made cig and leave it on an ash tray, it would burn to the end. In contrast, an RYO would die out like a cigar.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I can tell that you guys were not cigarette smokers in the glory days of the Malboro Man! I gave them up in 2000, but back then if you lit a Big Tobacco pre-made cig and leave it on an ash tray. it would burn to the end. In contrast, an RYO would die out like a cigar.

I started smoking Camels at age 14, and smoked them for 30 years. However, I can lay a RYO on an ashtray and it will do the same. I spent the last 5 years of cigarette smoking, smoking RYO. I never saw a difference in the way RYO burned from ready rolled. But, not all RYO is the same. Drum is way different from say bagged RYO.
We can argue our experiences, but ultimately, if you are going to make the claim that they add something top help the tobacco keep burning, you are going to have to suggest what the heck it could be that they add.

I am no fan of cigarettes, In fact, if we could vote on it today, I would vote to banish them forever. But, fact is, I just don't have this same experience of this lack of burn in RYO as you.

 

[mingc]

We can argue our experiences, but ultimately, if you are going to make the claim that they add something top help the tobacco keep burning, you are going to have to suggest what the heck it could be that they add.

I don't care about it that much!

 

[fireground_piper]

Take from it what you will:

NOVA Online | Search for a Safe Cigarette | Anatomy of a Cigarette (nonFlash)

 

[mingc]

Since I am rather new admittedly, what are casings and topping?

Sorry to have hijacked your thread, but in atonement, here's a discussion from the FAQ on Greg Pease's website about casings and toppings (interesting that he uses British spelling):

Q: I keep hearing about "cased" tobacco. What does this mean?

A: There are two things of interest here, namely "casing" and "top flavouring." They are two distinctly different approaches to altering a blend's flavor. Some tobaccos employ both.

Casing requires that the tobacco be soaked in or sprayed with a "sauce" that may contain sugar, molasses, liquorice, alcohols like rum or whiskey, and various flavourings, natural or otherwise, depending on the manufacturer. Once the tobacco "drinks" the sauce, it's conditioned in large cylinders that dry it back to the desired moisture level, generally between 12% (on the dry side) and 22% (very moist). Optimal moisture for smoking depends on the smoker, but it's generally in the 13-16% range. The aromas and flavours imparted by casing will remain in the tobacco pretty tenaciously, and will affect the smoke throughout the bowl.

Top-flavouring is added by spraying the finished blend with scents and flavourings. This is usually a much lighter application, and doesn't alter the moisture content of the leaf dramatically. Sometimes called "top-notes," this can be quite ephemeral. Because of the volatile nature of many of the commonly used components, a tobacco left to "air out" may lose a lot of the perfume that's applied this way.

Depending on the casing used, tobaccos can become very sticky. Some producers use humectants to maintain a specific moisture level in the final product. You'll hear people talk about PG, or propylene glycol, the most commonly used humectant these days. It's generally spoken of in rather disparaging terms, thought it's not the PG that deserves the condmenation, but the blending houses who use it with reckless abandon. If the tobacco won't dry out, PG is likely the culprit. In small quantities, it does its job well. In large quantities, it produces a sticky, wet smoking, pipe clogging weed that should never see the inside of a pipe.

Not all flavoured tobaccos are cased, and casing is not always a bad thing, but the term is used incorrectly more often than not, so a lot of confusion has been created.

G. L. Pease - Some Frequently Asked Questions

___________________________
And here are some articles that talk about casings and toppings:

https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/a-tale-of-two-syrups-casings-and-top-dressings/

Casings & Toppings Are Not The Same: Kevin Godbee, CMT Contribution

Casings & Toppings – Not the Same – CMT Contribution, Kevin Godbee On page 84 of The Tobacconist Handbook, it states in the Tobacconist...

tobacconistuniversityblog.blogspot.com

 

[sardonicus87]

Also, as a side note, many "non-natural" additives are actually naturally derived. Simply making a tincture with alcohol is enough sometimes that you can no longer call an additive flavor "natural", so just because something is an additive, that doesn't mean it's necessarily an artificial one, and just because an additive is artificial, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a laboratory synthesized chemical... never mind that not all laboratory synthesized chemicals are inherently harmful to begin with.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Did the Title of this thread change. It makes no sense, now.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Also, as a side note, many "non-natural" additives are actually naturally derived. Simply making a tincture with alcohol is enough sometimes that you can no longer call an additive flavor "natural", so just because something is an additive, that doesn't mean it's necessarily an artificial one, and just because an additive is artificial, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a laboratory synthesized chemical... never mind that not all laboratory synthesized chemicals are inherently harmful to begin with.

Arsenic is also all natural

 

[GrasshopperMan]

I purchased some of the cigar shop's pipe tobacco today. The flavor is "Strawberry Champagne"—Champagne casings and strawberry tops. Very satisfying and smooth. Thanks for all the help!