Roll-your-own tobacco: is it less harmful than cigarettes?

This type of tobacco enjoys a certain popularity among smokers. Is this good reputation deserved?

In recent years, the use of roll-your-own tobacco has risen sharply.. It has become a popular way of consuming tobacco, especially among young people, who after the crisis thought it was a cheaper option for smoking.

Rolling your own tobacco to smoke it has become a more considered option in certain social circles, and the idea that it is less harmful than smoking a conventional cigarette has also spread.

Is it true that smoking roll-your-own tobacco is better for your health than smoking cigarettes? In this article we are going to see what is true in this question, since it is something that many people are convinced of.

What is rolling tobacco?

First of all, it is necessary to clarify that rolling tobacco is understood as that type of tobacco that comes loose, without being presented in the form of a ready-made cigarette.

Although this type of tobacco can be used for other modes of consumption such as pipes, it is currently much better known for the preparation of cigarettes. In order to make cigarettes to make cigarettes, you have to buy this loose tobacco, as well as paper and mouthpieces.. Everything is sold separately, usually in plastic packages of different commercial brands.

Although the most common is that cigarettes are prepared by hand, these cigarettes can also be prepared using machines. These make it possible to achieve good uniformity when rolling the cigarette. On the other hand, there are also cigarette preparations in which the only thing missing is the addition of rolling tobacco.

5 great myths about the consumption of this substance

There have been many people who have switched to roll-your-own tobacco because they think it is better than conventional tobacco, but the reasons are usually not as true as one might think..

Below we are going to demystify the key points that lead many smokers to think that roll-your-own tobacco is a better choice for them. Let's take a look at why in most cases worrying about smoking roll-your-own tobacco or pack tobacco makes little sense.

1. Tobacco is more natural

Some smokers believe that roll-your-own tobacco is more natural and that it contains fewer additives than cigarettes already made in a factory. By not going to the last possible step in the manufacturing process, it is assumed that what is in the package is more natural or organic, and therefore healthier.

But the truth is that, beyond nicotine, loose tobacco is also treated and harmful additives are added. For example, there are substances that help retain moisture or reduce the smell of tobacco smoke.

2. Paper is healthier

"If it's not because of the tobacco, then it's because of the paper." That is what some people think, believing that while tobacco may not vary much, rolling tobacco paper is most likely much better.

Cigarettes in packet tobacco come with a white paper to which additives are added so that it does not go out while we do not take a puff. On the other hand, the paper of the rolling tobacco is extinguished shortly after not smoking.

Based on this, many people think that rolling tobacco paper is better because it burns more slowly. In addition, it is thinner, so there is less substance to inhale. there is less substance to inhale other than tobacco. But it is important not to fool yourself. This paper still carries toxic substances for our body.

3. Less cigarettes are smoked

There are people who consider that if they buy rolling tobacco they end up smoking less. If you talk to them they will give you different reasons, such as that the paper goes out more, that it makes them lazy to prepare the cigarettes or simply that they don't like it as much and that makes them feel less like smoking. makes them want to smoke less..

These are strategies that can make you smoke less, along with other associated factors that we will see. What is certain is that it has been shown that smokers who use roll-your-own tobacco generally smoke less than those who smoke the classic manufactured tobacco cigarettes. But as we shall see below, it should also be noted that roll-your-own tobacco brings other problems to the table.

4. Less tobacco is better

Although cigarettes can be loaded more, it is generally possible to choose the amount of tobacco in a cigarette in order to want to smoke less.

Some people prepare thinner cigarettes, i.e. with less tobacco, believing that this is a good solution for smoking less. But as we have seen in the previous point, trying to find solutions to smoke less is not always a good idea.

Smoking thinner cigarettes may even cause us to smoke more, because you are consuming less nicotine than you are used to.. Moreover, if you end up consuming more paper, you end up consuming more paper, and therefore more toxic substances that are not even tobacco.

Smoking thinner cigarettes can even cause you to inhale harder, making a respiratory effort to get in just as much tar and other harmful substances. tar and other harmful substances into your lungs. into your lungs.

5. It is healthier

This idea is the conclusion reached after believing some of the previous points. We have left this point for the end to examine different factors that allow us to definitively deny that rolling tobacco is a healthier option for your body.

Below we review some of the most relevant aspects to take into account for our health. Smoking roll-your-own tobacco and conventional tobacco is bad, that is obvious, but there are some differences that research on this subject has revealed.

5.1. Cancer

Roll-your-own tobacco may be perceived as a less harmful smoking option, but the results do not say the same. Compared to classic tobacco smokers, smokers of roll-your-own tobacco have a higher incidence of certain cancers such as lung, mouth, pharyngeal and laryngeal cancer.

In addition, a much higher concentration of a much higher concentration of tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine has been found in cigarette smokers. in roll-your-own tobacco compared to conventional tobacco. A greater oxidative effect on body cells has also been found in experiments that have studied both types of tobacco.

Carbon monoxide

People who smoke roll-your-own tobacco have more carbon monoxide in their blood. As remarkable aspects we can affirm that this damages the arteries and causes less respiratory capacity and efficiency in the transport of nutrients in the blood.

According to studies, rolling tobacco burns more paper and produces more carbon monoxide. Precisely, therefore, This can worsen vascular disease, which is very common among smokers.which is very common among smokers.

5.3. Nicotine dependence and its presence in the bloodstream

Once we stop finding nicotine in our body after one or two hours of smoking, other harmful molecules such as cotinine remain in our body. Cotinine is a substance produced in the metabolism of nicotine.

Traces of this substance have been found in the Blood for longer in people who smoke roll-your-own tobacco than in people who smoke conventional tobacco. But in any case no difference has been found between the dependence of smokers on nicotine consumption in towards nicotine consumption in general.

5.4. Decrease in quit attempts

A significant proportion of smokers have switched to roll-your-own tobacco because they believe it is better for them. Perhaps for this reason, the research shows lower results in quit attempts. Users of roll-your-own tobacco are less likely to quit smoking.

The smoker's perceived ability to quit, a concept called self-efficacy, is lower for roll-your-own tobacco smokers. This perception makes the motivation to quit the bad habit lower and, therefore, more difficult to stay away from this drug.

5.5. Stress and addiction

If one wants to avoid smoking, the best thing to do is, obviously, to stop smoking. Smoking roll-your-own tobacco can make you smoke a little less, but as we are seeing, it is not all about the number of cigarettes. And even if you sometimes cheat yourself and deprive yourself of certain cigarettes, the anxiety that can be generated by not smoking cigarettes is not the best thing to do, the anxiety that can be generated by not having the substance can increase the anxiety..

This is not a good solution for our body; suffering from stress is also harmful to our health.

In any case, we can affirm that the anxiety caused by restricting a substance to which we are hooked is an unequivocal sign of addiction. And as far as results regarding the level of nicotine dependence are concerned, smoking roll-your-own tobacco is as addictive as smoking conventional tobacco.

Bibliographic references:

• Losardo, R. J. (2016). "Smoking: addiction and disease. A global and national challenge." Revista de la Asociación Médica Argentina, 129 (4), pp. 36 - 38.
• Rodríguez Araujo, O. (2010). Tobacco: lies and exaggerations. Mexico City: Orfila.