Chemical-free tobacco

Lately I've been smoking American Spirit tobacco. It costs more than the stuff I used to smoke, but not enough to put me off. Some people I've spoken to have said that American Spirit is prohibitively expensive. Well - I'm lucky - I don't smoke so much that it makes a difference. I won't worry about a pound or two when the packet is going to last me a whole month. And if you smoke so much you can't make a packet last that long: too bad! Try cutting down!

So why am I paying an extra pound or two every month for tobacco? It's simple: American Spirit is 100% additive free. Other tobaccos aren't. I don't know what the additives are exactly, but some of the usual suspects are listed on the American Spirit packet: "sugar, propylene glycol, synthetic aroma substances, preservatives [and] what are termed chemical burning agents." Lovely.

I've always known that cigarettes were full of other dodgy stuff in addition to the tobacco leaf, which probably isn't nearly so deadly on it's own. I've always suspected that even my ordinary hand-rolling tobacco was not so pure as I would like it to be. Now I am in a position to choose a variety that I know is clear of all the unecessary stuff. Great!

I also have the added bonus of knowing that the company I am buying from is not marketing its products to kids. There has been a lot of scandal recently about the cynical efforts of some companies to get young people to notice their brand. I'm glad to say American Spirit is not one of those companies.