Jasmine Directory

Cigarettes are small tubes of very thin paper in which processed tobacco leaves are put in. On one end, in most cases, there’s a filter which aims to decrease the level of smoke and dangerous toxins contained within the tobacco itself or, in some cases, change the consistency and taste of the cigarette altogether.

In what’s known today as Mexico, tobacco cultivation and use has been around since 1,400 BC when Native American tribes used the plant for several purposes, including smoking. It had a mystic connotation back then, being considered an honor to smoke tobacco as the exhaled smoke represented your thoughts and wishes being sent to the gods.

Europeans then came to the Americas and tobacco started its upward climb as a world-wide industry. In 1880, James Bonsack invented the automated cigarette rolling machine which further increased the popularity and demand for tobacco-related products, especially cigarettes. Before that, regular pipes and precursors to the new water pipes like hookahs and bongs were used to smoke the plant.

Out of the tobacco plant, only the leaves are used in the process of making cigarettes. The leaves are picked and dried out then crumbled into fine, small parts which are rolled into the standard cigarette through the use of special thin paper. Other additives are processed into the leaves, in order to confer the cigarette certain taste and allow the leaves to burn accordingly. Safety regulations recently imposed have forced the cigarette industry to use paper which has bumps – special areas which inhibit and even extinguish the cigarette from burning out on itself. If left unattained, most cigarettes will just extinguish themselves, reducing risks of a fire hazard.

The cigarette industry is dwindling, depending on the country. More developed nations take the health risks associated with tobacco smoking more seriously, thus damaging the industry. In developing nations however, the tobacco and cigarette industry is thriving and often enough is on the rise as well.

In this section, you’ll get a lot of information about cigarettes and tobacco products, as well as resources which inform you of the possible health risks of smoking tobacco.