Rolling tobacco: is it less harmful than the packet cigarette?

In recent years, the consumption of rolling tobacco has increased enormously. It has become a popular way to use tobacco, especially among young people, who after the crisis have thought it was a cheaper option for smoking.

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

Is it true that smoking roll tobacco is better for your health than smoking packet tobacco? In this article we are going to see what is true in this matter, as it is something that many people are convinced of.

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What is rolling tobacco?

First of all, it is necessary to clarify that rolling tobacco is understood to be that type of tobacco that comes loose, without being 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 preparing cigarettes. To be able to do it

you have to buy this loose tobacco, in addition to paper and mouthpieces. Everything is sold separately, usually in plastic packages of different brand names.

While the most common is that cigarettes are prepared by hand, these cigarettes can also be prepared using machines. These allow to achieve a good uniformity when rolling the cigarette. On the other hand, there are also cigarette preparations in which they only need to add the rolling tobacco inside.

5 great myths about the consumption of this substance

There have been many people who have turned to rolling tobacco thinking that it is better than conventional tobacco, but generally the reasons are not as true as one might believe.

Next we are going to demystify the key points that lead many smokers to think that rolling tobacco is a better option for them. Let's see why in most cases worrying about smoking rolling tobacco or packet tobacco makes little sense.

1. Tobacco is more natural

Some smokers believe that rolling tobacco is more natural and contains fewer additives than cigarettes already made in a factory. By not going to the last possible step in its production 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 added harmful additives. For example, there are substances that help retain moisture or reduce the smell of tobacco smoke.

2. Paper is healthier

"If it is not for the tobacco, then it will be for the paper." That is what some people think, who believe that while tobacco may not vary much, the role of rolling tobacco is most likely much better.

The packet tobacco cigarettes are presented with a white paper to which additives are added so that it does not go out while we do not take any puff. Instead, the role of rolling tobacco it turns off shortly after not smoking.

From this, many people think that rolling tobacco paper is better because it burns more slowly. Also, it is thinner, so there is less substance to inhale other than tobacco. But it is important not to fool yourself. This role continues to carry toxic substances for our body.

3. Less cigarettes are smoked

There are people who believe 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 they are lazy to prepare cigarettes or simply that they do not like it that much and that makes them feel less like smoking.

They are strategies that can make one smoke less, along with other associated factors that we will see. The truth is that it has been shown that smokers who use rolling tobacco in general smoke less than those who smoke the classic manufactured tobacco cigarettes. But as we will see later, we must also bear in mind that rolling tobacco puts other problems on the table.

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4. Putting less amount of tobacco is better

Although cigarettes can be loaded more, generally being able to choose the amount of tobacco in a cigarette applies to wanting to smoke less.

There are those who prepare thinner cigarettes, that is, with less tobacco, believing that it is a good solution to smoke 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 can even cause us to smoke more, as you are consuming less nicotine than you are used to. In addition, if it ends up being that way, more paper is consumed, and therefore, more toxic substances that are not even tobacco.

Smoking thinner cigarettes can even cause you to have to inhale harder, making a respiratory effort to enter as well. tar and other harmful substances in your lungs.

5. It's healthier

This idea is the conclusion reached after believing some of the previous points. We have saved this point until last 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 rolling tobacco and conventional tobacco is bad, of course, but there are some differences that research on this topic has revealed.

5.1. Cancer

Rolling tobacco may be perceived as a less harmful smoking option, but the results do not say the same. Compared to classic tobacco smokers, rolling tobacco smokers have a higher incidence of certain cancers such as lung, mouth, pharynx and larynx.

What's more, a much higher concentration of tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine has been found in rolling tobacco compared to conventional tobacco. A greater oxidative effect has also been found in the cells of the body in experiments that have studied both types of tobacco.

5.2. Carbon monoxide

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

As studied, more paper burns in rolling tobacco and more carbon monoxide is produced. Precisely, therefore, this makes vascular pathology worse, very suffered among smokers.

5.3. Nicotine dependence and its presence in the blood

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

Traces of this substance have been found for longer in the blood in people who smoke roll tobacco than in people who smoke conventional tobacco. But in any case, no differences have been found between the dependence of some and other smokers towards nicotine consumption in general.

5.4. Decreased attempts to quit

A significant portion of smokers have switched to rolling tobacco because they believe it is better for them. Perhaps for this reason the research shows lower results in attempts to quit smoking. Rolling tobacco users are less likely to quit smoking.

The ability of the smoker to quit, a concept called self-efficacy, is lower in the case of rolling 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 you want to avoid smoking, it is obviously best to quit smoking. Smoking rolling tobacco can make you smoke somewhat less, but as we are seeing, it is not all about the number of cigarettes. And although sometimes you deceive yourself and deprive yourself of certain cigarettes, the anxiety that can be generated by not having the substance can increase anxiety.

This is not a good solution for our body; undergoing 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 in terms of results regarding the level of nicotine dependence, smoking rolling tobacco is as addictive as conventional tobacco.

Bibliographic references:

• Losardo, R. J. (2016). "Smoking: addiction and diseases. A global and national challenge. "Journal of the Argentine Medical Association, 129 (4), pp. 36 - 38.
• Rodríguez Araujo, O. (2010). Tobacco: lies and exaggerations. Mexico D.F.: Orfila.