Commercially Manufacturing Process of Cigarettes

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smolder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives.

Growing and harvesting the tobacco

Tobacco is initially grown in outdoor frames called seedbeds. In warm regions, the frames are covered with mulch or a cotton top sheet; in cooler regions, glass or plastic shields are installed to protect the plants. After 8-10 weeks, when the seedlings are almost 10 inches tall, they are transplanted to the fields. Although transplanting machines are available, the vast majority of the world's tobacco plants are still planted manually. As the plants grow, the heads are broken off by hand so the leaves will grow fuller, a process called topping. The plants stay in the field 90-120 days before they are harvested.

Tobacco plants are harvested by one of two methods, priming or stalk-cutting. In the priming method, the leaves are gathered and brought to a curing bam as they ripen. In the stalk-cutting method, the entire plant is cut and the plants are allowed to wilt in the field before being taken to the curing barn.

Curing the leaf

The curing process takes place in a specially constructed barn by air curing,fire curing, or flue curing. Air curing uses natural weather conditions to dry tobacco. Stalks are hung in a barn with ventilators that can be opened and closed to control temperature and humidity. Artificial heat is used only during cold or excessively humid weather. The stalks are hung for four to eight weeks. Fire curing dries tobacco with low-burning wood fires whose smoke comes in direct contact with the leaves, thus producing a smoky flavor and aroma. The tobacco is allowed to dry naturally in the barn for three to five days before it is fire-dried for 3-40 days. Flue curing is main method used in commercial production of cigarette and it’s done in small, tightly constructed barns that are artificially heated. The heat comes from flues (metal pipes) that are attached to furnaces. This process applies direct heat, which increases the amount of tobacco specific nitrosamines (a major cancer causing agent) and tobacco volume (thus making more cigarettes with less tobacco). This method is now used as a convenience and was not developed to cause cancer. It was actually developed by accident and the effect is to make a brighter yellow leaf. Flue curing takes about four to six days

The whole leaf is then processed since the stems within the leaf have more nicotine than the leaf. Stems used to be removed because they are bitter, but are now retained for their high nicotine content. In order to mask their poor burning qualities and bitter flavor, the stems are masticated along with scrap leaf into a paper pulp, which then has sugars added. Basically the stems are spread throughout the paper to mask its poor burning qualities, and the sugar is used to mask its bitter flavor. A problem here is that burned and inhaled sugar is an addictive substance, which is a factor in why Nicoderm and Nicorette are unsuccessful in helping people quit: there is no sugar withdrawal program. The sugar also accounts for the burning sensation in the throat and larynx associated with some products.

Ammonia is also added to the masticated paper pulp. Ammonia has the effect of raising the PH of the smoke which "frees" the nicotine that is in salt form. Freed nicotine is more readily absorbed by the body in smoke. Alkaloids, like nicotine and cocaine, are more readily absorbed when freed and not in salt form. This is a same process used to make crack-cocaine.

Next licorice and cocoa are added to many popular brands to smooth out the flavor. The REAL reason: licorice and cocoa, while approved for use as a food additive, have never been approved for use to be burned and inhaled. When they are burned and inhaled, it opens up the breathing passages deep in your lungs and gives you that final kick in your nicotine rush. The more surface area of your lungs exposed to the freebased nicotine and sugars, the faster you get your rush. Independent study’s has shown for this to cause more insidious cancer since it gets in deep where surgery is ineffectual.

Moistening and stripping

Unless humid weather conditions eliminate the need, the brittle, cured tobacco leaves must be conditioned in moistening chambers so they do not break when they are handled. After moistening, the tobacco is stripped. During this process, the leaves are sprayed with additional moisture as a precaution against cracking or breaking.

Sorting and auctioning

After the leaves are moistened and stripped, they are sorted into grades based on size, color, and quality, and tied in bundles for shipment. The farmers then bring the tobacco to warehouses, where it is placed in baskets, weighed, graded once again by a government inspector and, finally, auctioned to cigarette manufacturers.

Conditioning, aging, and blending

After they have purchased and transported the material to their factories, manufacturers treat and age the tobacco to enhance its flavor. First, the manufacturer re-dries the tobacco. This involves completely drying the leaves by air and then adding a uniform amount of moisture. Packed into barrels called hogsheads, the tobacco is then aged for one to three years, during which period it develops its flavor and aroma. After it is aged, the tobacco leaves are again moistened and the stalks and other wastes removed. Leaves from different types of tobacco are mixed to create a particular flavor.

The leftover tobacco particles from production processing and returned cigarettes are grinded down to fine grade. Its then mixed with water and boiled, to create a solution called “mother liquor”. The solution is sprayed on to continuous roll of paper and dried by direct heat. This is called reconstituted tobacco. Each commercially made cigarette contains % 30 reconstituted tobaccos, % 20 heat expanded tobacco and % 50 treated tobacco.

Making the cigarettes

After blending, the tobacco blends are pressed into cakes and mechanically shredded. Materials such as fruit juices or menthol are added to give additional flavor. The final shredded tobacco is then dispersed over a continuous roll of cigarette paper. A machine rolls the shredded tobacco into the paper and cuts it to the desired length. A device then grabs each cigarette and fastens a filter in one end. Modern cigarette machines can produce 25-30 cigarettes a second.