Smoking is... good?

[crazy croc]

On smoking, cancer, nicotine and big pharma

I was reading through the FAQ at their site just now and it seems they have changed the wording a bit from what it used to be. Now they just say "commercially grown standards" for the regular, which translates into pesticide usage. They used to make this much more clear years ago. Now I guess you have to research the difference between commercial standards and organic standards for yourself.

 

[notanothermonday]

On smoking, cancer, nicotine and big pharma

I got the info from their website about 5 years ago. http://www.nascigs.com/Default.aspx

I actually purchased a pack of American Spirit cigarettes here in good old Minnesota that had organic written on the pack as opposed to the word natural that I see written on the packs of cigarettes at the above linked web site.

 

[seekingObjectivity]

On smoking, cancer, nicotine and big pharma

Though the following is slightly off subject, I feel it may be of value considering that some readers may come to a quick and ill guided conclusion that their "favorite" tobacco products may be considered safe and that perception is the MAJOR causes that mitigates such effects. With that being said, I have pasted below an abstract of an article that proposes a possible correlation between tobacco use and incidence of caries. However, what may be more significant is the variable measured to estimate such correlations.

Sugar and fluoride content of various forms of tobacco


RE Going, SC Hsu, RL Pollack, and LD Haugh

Previous studies have produced conflicting reports about the possible relationship between the chewing and smoking of tobacco and the incidence of caries. This study identifies the total sugar and the fluoride concentrations of various forms of tobacco from different areas of the United States. This is the first part of an investigation of caries-promoting and caries-inhibiting substances in commercial tobacco products. The total sugar content of pouch and plug forms of tobacco was, on the average, highest, followed by decreasing concentration in the pipe, cigarette, cigar, and snuff forms of tobacco. Fluoride content of the plug and pouch forms of tobacco was highest, followed by cigar, snuff, pipe, and cigarette tobacco, respectively. Generally, nonsmoking forms of tobacco are most directly related to the potential promotion of caries. The total sugar content in the control tobacco leaves was comparable to that in cigars and snuff which have the least amount of sugar, whereas the fluoride content was similar to plug and pouch which have the highest amount of fluoride. Brands of snuff on average had the lowest concentrations of sugar (average 1.9%) and were among the products with the lowest fluoride content (average 0.26 ppm). Pouch and plug exceeded other forms in both sugar and fluoride content. Large variations in sugar and fluoride levels of tobacco products can exist form-to-form, store-to-store, brand-to-brand, and state-to-state. This may explain the diverse opinions of dental practitioners and investigators relative to the concept that tobacco increases or decreases dental caries.

[Note: The abstract may be found here: http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/100/1/27]

 

[Niall]

Tobacco choices

Ahh, received a healthy dose of Organic American Spirit in the post today - my thanx goes to Monkee for the tip ;)

To keep it as fresh as possible, I'm considering freezing some of it. Would anyone recommend against doing that? Would normal refrigeration suffice? Or is tobacco best left well alone?

 

[Beau]

Tobacco choices

I don't see anything wrong with freezing it. My pops used to put his cigars in the freezer for months and they would stay good. Perhaps pure, unrolled tobacco would be different but I don't see why.

 

[noise]

Tobacco choices

I smoke American spirit but I'm not sure if it is the organic brand or not. Usually get the blue pack, but I've seen a green and a yellow both of which I have tried but of those 3 choices (of pack of cigs) I'm confused as to which one is organically grown. The issue I get from smoking American spirits is that I have to double drag or pull really long and hard just to taste them.

I recently gave Nat Sherman Naturals a try in the strange brown box with the (what looks like) tobacco leaf paper and man those things actually have flavor! I found that I smoked about 8-10 in a 24 hour period versus 10-15 American Spirits and don't have to double puff or anything to actually taste it. On the down side the nat sherman's seemed to make my mouth feel a little funny.. also tried the regular pack which isn't available for another day and they seemed just right (Goldy Locks? :) )

Got a bit winded there ..uhh, so yeah, which ones were the organic & additive free on the American Spirits? Both brands seems .50-1.00 (us) more than the other mainstream brands (camel marlbobo..).

 

[Renaissance]

Tobacco choices

I smoke American spirit but I'm not sure if it is the organic brand or not. Usually get the blue pack, but I've seen a green and a yellow both of which I have tried but of those 3 choices (of pack of cigs) I'm confused as to which one is organically grown. The issue I get from smoking American spirits is that I have to double drag or pull really long and hard just to taste them.

I'm pretty sure all American Spirit brands are organic - I use loose American Spirit tobacco for rolling and it's much better tasting than the regular A.S. cigarettes, a lot cheaper too.

 

[Niall]

Tobacco choices

Noise, Roll Your Own, all the way! The A.S. cigs suck (the lungs out've you!); I found I had to cut the filters off to get anything from them!

Shane, technically the A.S. 'Original Blend' (yellow pouch in Europe, might be sky blue in the States, not sure), despite saying '100% Additive-Free' on the label, apparently isn't so in terms of being 'organic'. To pass as 'organic', products have to meet certain industry standards, a 'certified guarantee' according to the A.S.-Europe website:

Since October 2005 aficionados who enjoy Natural American Spirit® tobacco can also buy Natural American Spirit® Organic Blend Rolling Tobacco: 100 % organic tobacco. The Natural American Spirit® Organic Rolling Tobacco meets the strict criteria of the US Department of Agriculture for organic farming and is grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Only tobacco such as this may be described as “organic tobacco� .

http://www.americanspirit-info.de/produkte.php?lang=en

From what Monkee and others have explained to me, I think the Original Blend may actually have pesticide/chemical use in its pre-production processes. When it says 'additive-free', it means just that; that nothing was added to the tobacco once it was grown and cultivated. I too had presumed this meant that it was organic: not so! If you compare the paragraph I quoted above to the one that precedes it (via the link above), notice that they do not say that the Original Blend is pesticide/chemical-free, rather that there are no preservatives added to it in the post-production stages.

Right, I'm off to try the Organic stuff out

Ps Couldn't find it for sale in the UK, so I got mine from Germany:

http://www.tabak-brucker.de/shop/themes/kategorie/detail.php?artikelid=196040&source=2

**EDIT:

17th June 2007

From American Spirit's US site:

What is the difference between your regular tobacco and your organic tobacco?

 

[noise]

Tobacco choices

Thanks Shane, starsailor. "The A.S. cigs suck (the lungs out've you!)" I agree totally, I'm puffing for the life of me to get a drag out of them. I will look into organic natural roll my own (likely with a machine). 1,000 thanks for your replies! Maybe I'll buy a pack of those Nat Sherman Naturals for those times when rolling isn't convenient. Then again I could keep a few extra's rolled, I wonder if working for it (Edit:rolling my own and smoking has a certain satisfaction?) helps to.

 

[Meg]

Tobacco choices

The website didn't mention overseas shipment, but they do mention that they won't send cigarettes to terrorist:)

If you are a terrorist, you may not use our website. Attempting to commit terrorism is a crime, please exit the website and inform the appropriate authorities of your intentions. Failure to do so is against our terms of service.

hxxp://www.blackhawktobacco.com/

Skydancer are good, pretty strong. I am trying Seneca at the moment. I have no complaints about either.

 

[anart]

Tobacco choices

The website didn't mention overseas shipment, but they do mention that they won't send cigarettes to terrorist:)

If you are a terrorist, you may not use our website. Attempting to commit terrorism is a crime, please exit the website and inform the appropriate authorities of your intentions. Failure to do so is against our terms of service.

hxxp://www.blackhawktobacco.com/

That is hysterical - I hope it was meant as sarcasm, because if so, it's really funny. If not, then - well, they're idiots - so it must be sarcasm?

=)

 

[Meg]

Tobacco choices

That is hysterical - I hope it was meant as sarcasm, because if so, it's really funny. If not, then - well, they're idiots - so it must be sarcasm?

=)

LMFAO. I liked the part where it suggested that you turn yourself in! Maybe it's a regulatory thing, but it's surely funny.

 

[Justin]

Tobacco choices

That is hysterical - I hope it was meant as sarcasm, because if so, it's really funny. If not, then - well, they're idiots - so it must be sarcasm?

=)

LMFAO. I liked the part where it suggested that you turn yourself in! Maybe it's a regulatory thing, but it's surely funny.

That site is too funny! =)

They also have this:

This is a private web site. The bandwidth you are using is the property of Black Hawk Tobacco Shop. We provide this service free of charge to our customers and our future customers. Use of this site is for our customers or future customers only.

If you are a member of an organization or a private individual using this site for reasons other than those outlined in our Terms of Service, you must exit this web site immediately. If you are not a customer nor do you intend to become a customer, you must contact us and ask for permission to use our web site. Please call 1-760-778-1671 and report your intentions. If you do not do so, you are violating our United States Constitutional given right to privacy, stealing our bandwidth and trespassing.

Sadly, I don't think they mean this as a joke...

 

[dant]

Tobacco choices

I wonder if it is cheaper to buy your own raw materials and either get a pipe or get
your own papers and roll your own (with your fingers. It's quite fun once you get the
hang of it and also it slows you down a little preventing you from finishing one drag
and whipping out another in succession aiding "in moderation"? :)

Since tobacco prices are climbing quite rapidly (in OR USA it started at $2.25/oz US.
and climbed to $2.75/oz. US) in 1 month at a cheap place but elsewhere in the region
is $3.00+/oz. US and climbing, so maybe consider buying bulk?

Another idea; Maybe we can form a membership, call it the SSC (SOTT-Smoking-Club)
and buy raw Tobacco by the crate? One problem of course is that not everyone wants
to smoke the same tobacco flavor, for example that I might prefer blueberry flavored
tobacco? Maybe this problem can be solved by adding the non-harmful flavoring additives
(available only from SOTT)? :)

Just a (wild) thought :D

 

[Color]

Tobacco choices

Since tobacco prices are climbing quite rapidly (in OR USA it started at $2.25/oz US.
and climbed to $2.75/oz. US) in 1 month at a cheap place but elsewhere in the region
is $3.00+/oz. US and climbing, so maybe consider buying bulk?

What is: /oz? I mean- what "oz" stands for?

thx