If you plan to
investigate the tobacco impact on your health to the very details, you will
definitely review the disclosed documents from Tobacco Industry. These
documents often contain unique terms, acronyms and phrases unfamiliar to people
who work outside the industry. This post is bringing together most of the
tobacco industry-related terms for your convenience.
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Aging - A mild state of fermentation.
Air-cured
tobaccos - Are dried naturally, sheltered from sunlight.
This drying is carried out on the whole plant or as individual leaves reach
maturity. There are generally five crops in a season. Sugar produced by the plants is degraded
during the three months treatment.
American
blends - These blends have the following components: Virginia,
Burley and Oriental in variable proportions to which a “sauce” consisting of
humidifying and sugar elements is added. These blends are finally sprayed with
aromatic flavors.
Aromatics
- Additives used to flavor tobacco, including cherry, apple, orange, chocolate,
coffee, and whisky flavors.
Band
- The ring of paper with the name of the cigar brand wrapped near the closed
head of the cigar and usually held on with vegetable based glue.
Barrel - The main body
of the cigar.
Binder
- The portion of a tobacco leaf that is rolled around the filler to hold it
together.
Blend
- A mixture of tobacco varieties. The purpose of creating a blend is to produce
a type of tobacco that meets a customer's specifications of quality, flavor and
aroma.
Blended
cigarettes - Most of the cigarettes smoked today are blended,
which means they are made with a mixture of tobacco varieties. The main types are
American-blend, Oriental-blend, German-blend, English-blend (or Virginia), Maryland
and dark cigarettes.
Blending
- Mixing different varieties and grades of tobacco in order to produce a
predetermined, uniform blend that meets a customer's specifications of quality,
flavor and aroma. The tobaccos are blended according to specific formulas or recipes
that dictate the percentage of each type and grade to be used.
Bloom
- A fine white powder that forms on the wrapper of the cigar caused by the oils
that exude from the tobacco. It can be gently brushed off with a small camel
hair brush, though there is no need to do so. Bloom indicates that the cigar is
alive, maturing as it should inside a well maintained humidor. Bloom should not
be confused with mold. Mold is bluish-green and stains the wrapper. Mold
usually indicates that a humidor is too warm or has excessive levels of
humidity.
Blue
mold
- Blue mold is a damaging fungus that forms on the tobacco leaf and can ruin the
crop. It is a considerable problem where there is a lot of humidity or rain.
Briar
Pipe
- The name is a corruption of the French word "bruyere", or heath
tree, a low shrub found throughout Europe, primarily around the Mediterranean.
The true briar is only made out of the very hard, dry root of the mature shrub
which may be anything up to 250 years old.
Bright - A type of cigarette tobacco grown from Florida to
Virginia, flue cured without direct contact of fumes, commonly used to give
smoothness, mildness, and color to the blend.
British
Flake and Ready Rubbed - The tobacco leaves are compacted
under great pressure and heat is applied for some days. The tobacco cakes are
then removed from the press and cut into thin slices on a guillotine. The pipe
smoker breaks the flakes up in the palm of the hand to the texture that suits
the pipe and style of smoking. This type of tobacco produces a cool slow
burning smoke.
Bunch
- The mix of filler and binder leaves before they are rolled into a wrapper.
Burley
- Highly developed plants, the culture of which has recently expanded. This
type of tobacco does not ferment like the "Dark", but generally
"matures". Burley, though not very aromatic, is very useful in
blending.
Cased Burley - Burley strip tobacco which has been sprayed with casing,
a flavoring solution, after drying.
Casing - A solution of flavoring additives used for spraying
onto tobacco or stems.
Cap - A circular
piece of wrapper leaf cigar tobacco that is placed at the head of the cigar to
secure the wrapper. Cuban cigar caps have a distinctive three to four-layer
circular look that distinguishes them from cheaper counterfeit look-a-likes.
Chaveta (roller's knife) - The knife used
in a cigar factory for cutting the wrapper leaf.
Cigarette
Rod
– The combined form of blended tobacco wrapped in a cigarette paper.
Clay
Pipe
- These pipes do smoke quite hot but one trick is to dip the pipe in cold water
and shake of the excess before filling and lighting, Clay's tend to give an
earthy taste to the tobacco, quite unusual but not unpleasant.
Coal
– The burning cone at the lighted end of cigarette.
Corncob - Normally associated with the
great smoking country of America. Daniel Boone was said to have smoked a
"Missouri Meerschaum." As the name suggests the corncob pipe is made
from a corn cob, now specially grown hybrid cobs are cultivated for the making
of these pipes. The cobs are dried for around 2 years before being treated and
coated. One cob normally makes two pipes. The corncob pipe is very light weight
and porous and adds a certain flavor to the tobacco smoked.
Corojos - Plants chosen to provide wrapper
leaves and grown under a gauze sunscreen.
Curing
- Immediately after harvesting, tobacco is cured to remove all the natural sap
from the leaves so that it can be further processed. There are four primary
curing methods: air-curing, flue-curing, fire-curing, and sun-curing; but all
of them focus on regulating the rate at which moisture is removed from the
tobacco.
Dark
blends - Consisting of dark tobaccos from various origins
(France, South America, Africa and Asia) and Oriental. Generally, they do not
contain additives or "sauce".
Dark
tobaccos - Are generally quite developed plants which,
initially, were the most widely spread in the world. When used for cigar
making, the leaf is subjected to a second treatment-fermentation.
DIET -Dry Ice Expanded Tobacco.
Dryer - A unit which dries, that is, removes moisture from
tobacco, or blended leaf by exposing the product to heated air. The dryer may
be a long oven through which a belt moves, or a rotating cylinder through which
heated air is passed.
Dry
Patch – The area of the tipping paper in cigarette where
no tipping adhesive is applied. This allows air flow entering from the
corresponding tipping paper perforation holes to pass freely into the plug wrap
layer underneath.
Entubar - A rolling method that originated
in Cuba. Rather than booking the filler leaves, the roller folds each
individual filler leaf back on itself, then bunches the leaves together.
Proponents of this method say it creates superior air flow through the cigar,
which results in a more even draw and burn.
Escaparates - Cooling cabinets in
which cigars are kept at the factory for a few weeks after they have been
rolled.
Expanded Tobacco
(ET) -Tobacco which has
been increased in size in a process of cellular expansion followed by freeze
drying. Expanding increases tobacco volume by +/-100% but greatly reduces
flavor. Analogous procedure to "puffed wheat" and "puffed
rice." Expanded tobacco is used to reduce tobacco weight per cigarette and
reduce FTC tar readings.
Fermentation
- There are primarily two types of fermentation, natural and forced fermentation.
The duration of the process ranges from two days to two months or more. Natural
fermentation, sometimes known as aging, is a chemical reaction caused by
moisture and warm temperatures; it occurs when tobacco is packaged in bales or
hogsheads. Natural fermentation generally gives tobacco a more uniform color
and a milder taste. Forced fermentation involves placing tobacco in huge stacks
so that the chemical reaction caused by the moisture and warm temperatures is
intensified by the pressure the tobacco is under. Forced fermentation generally
gives tobacco a more uniform color, as well as a smoother aroma and taste.
Filler
- Tobacco used as the main body or core of a cigar that provides the
significant portion of the taste.
Filter
efficiency – The percentage of the incoming smoke or
smoke components to be removed by a filter.
Fire-cured
- Is a type akin to Dark; its natural drying is completed by a wood-fired
fumigation (oak is used by the traditionalists).
Flag - An alternative to a cap that
involves shaping the wrapper leaf at the head of the cigar so that it secures
the wrapper in place. Sometimes a flag can be tied off in a pig-tail or curly
head.
Flake,
Plug and Bar tobaccos - After the tobacco leaves have been
prepared, they are put into molding presses under great pressure, usually by means
of hydraulics, and pressed into cakes.
The cakes are then placed into retaining presses and cooled or heated.
The amount of pressure and heat will determine the final tobacco color. Flake
tobaccos can be sold in slices, or as ready rubbed flake and partly broken
flake.
Flue-cured
- Represented by the majority of warm-air dried Virginia. The cultivation is expanding
rapidly. The plant is average in size and six crops are produced yearly. Each crop
is taken to a bulk curing barn where it is dried by warm air for seven days.
The leaves become yellow as a result of a rapid rise of temperature. Among the
Virginia are the aromatics and the fillers, the latter used as a major ingredient
to balance the mixture. The blends and the taste-lines: Each industrial blend
is the result of the scientific compositions of several grades from the same
tobacco and from different types (from 20 to 40 in commercial products).
Foot - The open end of the cigar you
light.
Frog-eye - A whitish spot on tobacco leaves
that gives the tobacco a ripe appearance. The spot is actually the result
of a disease.
FUBYAS - Acronym stands for "First Usual Brand Younger
Adult Smoker," a tobacco industry term for young people.
Hand - Individual tobacco leaves hung
together after harvest and tied at the top. These hands are piled together to
make a bulk for fermentation.
Hand-rolled (Handmade)
- A cigar made entirely by hand, usually constructed with a high quality
wrapper and long filler and binder as opposed to cut filler used in machine
made and cigar seconds.
Head - the closed end of the cigar, or
the end you cut and smoke.
Humidor - Can be an entire room or a small
box that is designed to preserve fragile cigars. An optimum humidity and
temperature level in a humidor is 70/70, or 70 percent humidity and 70 degrees
Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).
Latakia
- a product of the Eastern Mediterranean used in certain mixtures to give a
distinctive flavor.
Leaf
- These leaves grow just below the tips of the tobacco plant and are characterized
by their relative length; they are firm and heavy-bodied. Nicotine content can
range from 3% to over 3.5%, while the sugar level is around 15%.
Ligero - One of the three basic types of
filler tobacco. The name means "light" in Spanish.
Long
filler
- A term used to designate filler tobacco that runs the length of the body of
the cigar, as opposed chopped up pieces know as "cut-filler."
Lugs
- Lugs are the leaves around the bottom part of the stalk. They are
characterized by their small size, thinness and brightness. They make up 13% of
the plant’s total weight. The nicotine content is around 2.5%, and the sugar
level varies from 12-20%.
Mainstream
Smoke – The smoke exiting from the mouth end of a
cigarette during puffing.
Meerschaum Pipe
- Pipes have been made from this material since the beginning of the 18th
century. Meerschaum pipes mainly originate from Turkey where the material is
mined. It is actually a mineral, a rock made up of magnesium which can be found
at a depth of around 30 feet. The quality of this material in the use of pipe
making is that it is lightweight and very porous; it is also very easy to work
with as regards to carving. The meerschaum pipe takes on a lovely color of a
golden brown as it is smoked over the years, adding extra beauty to the pipes
appearance.
Mixtures
- their unique character comes from careful blending of many different exotic
tobaccos and plain natural Virginia and Shags. Some of the more exotic tobaccos
in these mixtures have been previously pressed and darkened and may include
rich flavorings to enhance the aroma and taste.
Mold
- The wooden form used by cigar rollers to give shape to a finished bunch of
cigar tobacco. Some moulds have two parts which are then placed in a press.
Oriental
- Grown largely in the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean; distinctively
aromatic.
Perique
- Grown largely around New Orleans; subject to a curing process known to just
one family, perique is used as a seasoner for other pipe tobaccos, providing a
distinctive taste and aroma.
Perforation
– The
creation of tear-drop shaped holes in the tipping paper by laser beam to
introduce air into the smoke stream.
Plug wrap -
the paper that goes around the
cigarette filter.
Priming
(Sandleaves) - These are the leaves at the bottom of the stalk. They are the
first leaves to ripen and the first to be harvested. They make up about 12% of
the plant's weight. Primings contain only 1.5 to 2% nicotine and 5 to 10%
sugar.
Puff
Count (PC) – The number of puffs taken on a cigarette
smoked to a prescribed butt length under standard smoking conditions.
Puffed tobacco - Expanded tobacco, created using gaseous processes like
those used to puff wheat or rice used in cereals.
Rag
– Blended, usually cases, and cut tobacco prior to roasting. Rag normally
contains about 20% moisture.
Recon - Reconstituted tobacco.
Ring gauge
- A standard industry measurement for the diameter of a cigar in 64ths of an
inch. A 50 ring gauge cigar is 50/64ths of an inch thick.
Ripper Shorts - Reusable tobacco removed from rejected cigarettes in
the ripping operation. Contains many short pieces.
Rosado - A Spanish term that means
"rose-colored." It is used to describe the reddish tint of some
Cuban-seed wrapper.
Seco - One of three basic types of
filler tobacco. The name means "dry" in Spanish.
Sidestream
smoke – The smoke exiting from any part of the cigarette
except from the mouth end during puffing.
Shade
grown
- Prime tobacco leaf grown under cheesecloth tenting called a
"tapado" to produce a thin, elastic tobacco leaf that is most often used
in premium cigars.
Shoulder - The area of a
cigar where the cap meets the body. If you cut into the shoulder, the cigar
will begin to unravel.
Smoking
leaf
- "Smoking leaves" grow just above the middle of the stalk. They make
up around 7.5% of the plant's total weight. These leaves ripen to a bright
orange color and contain about 3% nicotine. The sugar content is about the same
as in the lugs.
Smoking
Time
- A 5-inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, such as a Robusto, should provide
anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of smoking pleasure. A double corona, a 7
1/2-inch cigar with a 50 ring gauge, may give over an hour's worth of smoking
time. A thinner cigar, such as a Lonsdale, smokes in less time than a cigar
with a 50 ring gauge.
Spanish
Cedar
- The kind of wood that is used to make most cigar boxes and humidors.
Spill - A strip of
cedar used to light a cigar when using a candle or a fluid lighter, both of
which can alter the taste of the cigar.
Stem - The midrib of a tobacco leaf.
Sugar - Sugars occur
naturally in tobacco. Darker wrappers, such as maduros, contain more sugar,
making them sweeter.
Sun-cured
- Represent almost the totality of Oriental tobaccos. Their cultivation is confined
to Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and to a lesser degree to adjoining countries. The
essential characteristics of oriental tobaccos are their aromatic qualities and
a high sugar content (10 to 15%). The smoke is generally mild and this characteristic
brings a binding and homogeneous effect used in most mixtures.
Sun
grown
- Tobacco grown in direct sunlight that creates a thicker leaf with thicker
veins that's often used in more hearty tasting cigars like maduros.
Tapado - A cheesecloth tent under which
shade-grown wrapper leaf is cultivated.
Tar
– Total particulate matter in the cigarette minus the nicotine and water
content.
Tipping
adhesive – The adhesive applied to the tipping paper
substrate of cigarette which allows it to bond to the filter, the cigarette
rod, and for the tipping paper lap seam.
Tipping
paper – Paper that is wrapped around the filter, joining
it to the cigarette rod.
Tips
- The tips are the leaves growing at the top of the tobacco plant. They are
relatively narrow and pointed, but are usually heavier-bodied than leaves lower
down the plant. Tips represent
around 18% of
the plant's total
weight, and contain a
nicotine level of
about 3.5%.
Tobacco
Plant - One of the most common plants is Virginia
tobacco. It is often used in US and European 'blended' cigarettes, and in
particular in the so-called 'English' Virginian-type cigarettes. The heavier
grades are used in various kinds of mixtures for pipe smoking. Flue-cured
tobacco is grown in more than seventy countries. The major exporting countries
are China, the USA, Brazil, India, and Zimbabwe. Around 40% of the world’s tobacco
is currently of a Virginian type plant. A well-grown plant reaches a total
height of 160-190 cm, and will carry 18-22 harvestable leaves.
Torcedores - A person who rolls
cigars.
Turkish tobacco - One of three major types of cigarette tobacco, grown
in the Mediterranean area (mainly Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and Yugoslavia, air
cured, commonly used to give extra aroma and richness to the blend.
Twist
and Spun Cut - Full bodied, powerful and rich, they
are made in the traditional style developed by sailors, spun to form a rope. Usually
only stocked by specialist tobacconists.
Virginia
blends - This taste is the oldest known. It is characterized
by the pure Virginia blends, originally without additives.
Wrapper
- A tobacco leaf of varying quality that is wrapped around the finished bunch and
binder to complete the cigar. Leaves with elasticity are used to restrain the
filler within the cigar. Good wrappers usually have no visible veins. Colors
vary according to the maturing process.
WSC - Acronym for "whole smoke condensate."
YAFS - Acronym referring to "Young Adult Female
Smokers."
YAMS - Acronym for "Young Adult Male Smokers"
YAX - Acronym referring to both young adult male and female
smokers combined, as one term.
Sources and Additional
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