The cigarette injector machine was invented for making the process of rolling or packing cigarettes more convenient. With this device, one can evenly distribute tobacco inside the cigarette. The machine consists of a main mechanism and a tape that holds the cigarette paper. It was made at the Rapid factory in Riga.
A hand rolled cigarette is made by the smoker themselves from tobacco or shag and special paper, with or without a filter. Hand rolled cigarettes are made in two ways: by rolling tobacco into paper or by packing tobacco into special tubes.
For hand rolled cigarettes, finely chopped cigarette or homegrown tobacco is used. To make one, a sheet of rolling paper is spread in a U-shape, the appropriate portion of tobacco is put inside it, after which the cigarette is rolled into a cylinder. For many smokers, rolling cigarettes by hand is a special ritual, without which smoking is not as enjoyable.
Tobacco distribution in Russia began in the 16th century, after the establishment of trade relations with England. Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, who ascended the throne in 1613, imposed a ban on tobacco smoking. The main reasons for this were that smoking presented a fire hazard and was deemed immoral. Smoking was also added to the list of deadly sins, and tobacco was called a “cursed devil’s herb”.
Over the years, scarce tobacco was the subject of speculation and barter exchange. By 1918, there were only 11 tobacco factories operating in the country, 5 of which were in Petrograd. In the first quarter of the 20th century, smoking was considered fashionable among the intelligentsia, however some of its representatives openly opposed cigarettes. Some politicians also campaigned for anti-smoking measures. The harm caused by smoking was one of the topics for promoting a healthy lifestyle during the anti-alcohol campaign of 1929–1930.
As in ordinary cigarettes, hand-rolled cigarettes contain the same toxic and carcinogenic elements like tar, nicotine, and nitrosamines. Oftentimes, hand rolled cigarettes have an even larger concentration of these elements, because they have more tobacco and there is no filter. Smokers of hand rolled cigarettes are more at risk of developing cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, lungs and esophagus.
