What are cigarettes made of? Main ingredients

Every smoker has ever wondered what a cigarette consists of. After all, in addition to tobacco, the cigarette “hides” and other, no less important components, without which it is impossible to imagine the modern smoking process. In this article we have collected for you a detailed and very interesting material about all the components of a cigarette.

The main components of a cigarette

To understand cigarette construction, let’s break down a cigarette into its basic elements:

1. The first and most important component is, of course, the tobacco pouch (tobacco blend), that is, the shredded tobacco. The bag usually consists of a specially selected blend of tobacco from the three main tobacco varieties – Virginia, Burley and Oriental.
2. The second, but no less important component is the cigarette paper in which the finely cut tobacco is wrapped – the pouch.
3. The third component, without which it is difficult to imagine a modern cigarette, is the filter, which is designed to reduce the amount of smoke and its components entering the smoker’s body. The filter, in turn, is also wrapped in a special filter paper.
4. And at the very end, the filter is “attached” to the tobacco pouch wrapped in cigarette paper using the rim paper.

Cigarettes may also contain some additional elements, as tobacco may be treated with various auxiliary substances during production and enriched with additional ingredients, including sauces (substances that preserve the moisture and plasticity of tobacco leaf), preservatives and flavorings specific to each brand of cigarettes.

Tobacco bag

A tobacco pouch is a mixture of tobaccos of different varieties and origins that provides an exceptional and distinctive flavor to a brand of cigarettes. As a rule, different brands of cigarettes have different tobacco pouches, and an experienced smoker can easily distinguish “his” tobacco pouch from another.

One often hears about the “American pouch.” “American pouch” is a combination of the three main types of tobacco (Virginia, Oriental, and Burley), and various sauces that are added to the tobaccos. The sauces keep the tobacco moist and flavorful.

There is also a “British pouch” which consists mainly of Virginia tobacco and contains no sauces or additives.

Cigarette paper

In the production of cigarettes, special paper is used, which must necessarily be permeable to air. The main task of this paper is the stable and uniform formation of ash during smoking. Such cigarette paper also directly affects the level of concentration of components that enter the lungs of the smoker. For example, paper of higher porosity, i.e. breathability, is used in the development of low-tar cigarettes. Conversely, lower porosity paper is used for high-tar cigarettes.

Cigarette paper should have the following characteristics:

• Burn slowly
• Tasteless
• “Bind” the ashes, i.e., keep them from flying off in all directions
• Permeate

Filters

A filter is usually a device made of a porous material, such as tightly pressed paper or absorbent cotton, that is attached to the end of a cigarette or cigar.

A filter in a cigarette is needed primarily to reduce the amount of smoke that enters the smoker’s body and to keep certain (not the healthiest) components of that smoke from entering the smoker’s lungs. Accordingly, the filter must absorb moisture, tar, various impurities, and regulate the concentration of nicotine that enters the smoker’s body.

The regular use of filters in cigarettes began in the 1950s. This is what played a significant role in the development of the tobacco industry and significantly reduced the level of concentration of tar that enters the human body while smoking.

Most filters are made from organic fiber – cellulose.

By design, filters are simple and combined. The latter consist of 2 or more components, for example, cellulose-acetate filter + paper filter. We have already published detailed material on the subject of filters here.

By the way, you may be surprised, but one of the components of a cigarette filter can also be activated carbon. This component is used in filters more and more often, because it is known for its ability to selectively remove some of the toxic components of smoke.

Cigarette venting

If you have ever held a cigarette in your hand, you must have noticed the characteristic holes on the rim of the filter. Have you ever wondered what they are for? After all, it is unlikely that a cigarette will be perforated just for beauty…..

As it turned out, these tiny holes are needed for the so-called “ventilation” of the cigarette. Cigarettes are ventilated due to air permeability of cigarette paper and through these holes on the rim of the filter.

To put it simply, ventilation occurs at the exact moment when the smoker takes a puff. At that moment, due to the natural properties of the cigarette paper and the holes on the filter, the smoke stream is “liquefied” by the air flow. This process primarily reduces the concentration of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide that will enter the smoker’s body and also regulates the strength of the cigarette.

We also remind you that on our website you can buy cigarettes from the official manufacturer. The whole assortment – in the catalog.