Roll Your Own Cigarettes, Smoke Smarter!

Mar. 12, 2010 News Alert!

The Senate passed the PACT Act S. 1147 last night by unanimous consent. That's right folks they didn't even bother to take a vote on the bill that's been languishing in committee since last November and no one spoke up in opposition. The Senate apparently doesn't care that the USPS lost $7 Billion dollars last year and will certainly lose even more when they can no longer ship tobacco products, because.. well they're just doing it to save the children who might be tempted to steal mommies credit card and place an online order for the evil weed. Check out our Forums for more discussion because right now I'm too angry to write any more about this travesty.

Mar. 1, 2010 A look back, the genesis of RYO Revolution

When I first discovered MYO and took my first tentative steps away from factory made cigarettes, I discovered a vibrant community full of colorful characters and invaluable information and advice for fledgling newcomers at . Unfortunately, in Sept '07 Dave L. announced that he would be closing the forums due to several discussion threads which had spiraled out of control and after 4 years of "countering ignorance and inaccuracies... no longer have the time or interest". His announcement caught the community by surprise and many quickly offered their time as moderators and some offered cash donations to keep the forums alive. When Dave stated that he'd made up his mind and rejected the offers to help, I started to think of what I could do to help to keep the community alive.

I was just about to publish my first List of RYO Tobacco Brands on a free website and had been discussing it with Dave via E-mail in case he wanted to incorporate it into his SYO site. Also, since I had run a forum a few years prior and had some web design experience, I started looking around at the various Open Source forum platforms that were available to attempt to create a new home for the soon to be displaced SYO community. Having decided on phpBB, I created and launched the "RYO Information Forums" on Dec 31, 2007. Then a funny thing happened, Dave had a change of heart and decided to keep developing the SYO site, but to split the forum to a new domain and keep it alive.

This gave me some time to publish some more RYO/MYO content in and out of the new forums, but it also meant that there was no compelling reason for the new forums existence. Thankfully 5 SYO members signed up at the new forum in the first couple weeks and started discussions and contributed information to the point where I decided to make a full commitment and registered a domain name. Thus ryorevolution.com was born on Jan. 12, phpBB had also just released version 3 which contained many enhancements and security improvements, so I started a new website on a new free (ad-free) host and transferred the forums to the new server on Jan. 24, 2008.

So technically, RYO Revolution was launched in January, but after the first couple weeks the next month was rather shaky. It turns out that the owner of the web hosting company had sold his business shortly after I launched RYO Revolution. The servers soon became overcrowded and experienced increasingly frequent downtime with little or no explanation. It became apparent that things were going to continue to get worse, so once again I started researching web hosts, but finally realized that in order to have a fighting chance to survive would take not only a commitment of time, but cash as well. No more free web hosts for me. I managed to luck into a great deal on paid hosting, created an all new website and moved the domain and forums on March 16, 2008. Because of the difficulties prior to that date, I'm inclined to view March 16 as the anniversary and the time before that as a dress rehearsal or warm-up period :)

Growth of the RYO Revolution community had been slow up to that point, but then something happened on April 10. Dave L. inexplicably and without warning or explanation, closed his MYO forums but had left a link to RYO Revolution on his What's New page. This was completely unexpected and of course led to a sudden influx of new community members. We've been steadily growing ever since and I'm proud to report that we currently have over 1200 members in our community who have posted over 1700 articles, with nearly 20,000 posts!

Of course it hasn't all been smooth sailing, we've had some growing pains and I don't get the site updated as often as I'd like, but now is not the time for coulda's and shoulda's... instead let me just say I'm very pleased with how far RYO Revolution has come from it's very humble beginnings. Our community has grown from a handful of members to where we are today due to our incredible members who are always willing to welcome and help a newbie get over the initial hurdles of switching to RYO/MYO from their factory made cigarettes, as well as debate the merits of the many great tobaccos we have to choose from and continually amaze me with unique and innovative blends. I'm sure the next two years will be filled with more hurdles to overcome, but our members will continue to support each other, debate the issues and find innovate ways to meet the challenges as we go forward.

• Filtered Cigarette Tubes Lists over 100 Cigarette Tubes for Make-Your-Own Cigarettes.

• Pipe Tobacco Brands Over 60 smooth pipe tobaccos suitable for Roll-Your-Own Cigarettes.

Cigarette prices have skyrocketed over the last 10 years from a pre-MSA average cost of $2.18 in 1998 to a national average of over $5 per pack today. In addition to the the Federal Excise Tax Increase of 62 cents on April 1st, which raised the FET to $1.01 per pack, 6 states add an additional $2.00 per pack with 9 states now adding even higher taxes, up to $3.46 per pack. These ever-increasing taxes have caused many smokers to reach their budget breaking point, forcing smokers to attempt to quit, cut back or look for cheaper alternatives.

What about purchasing cigarettes online or driving across state lines to try to save money?

In recent years at least 13 states have been vigorously enforcing the "Jenkins Act", with subpoenas to online cigarette sellers to gather customer names and order history. Victims of these enforcement policies have suddenly been presented with huge bills for back-tax due plus interest within 30 days, accompanied by threats of extreme penalties (up to 500% penalties in some states) if left unpaid. Other states have set-up sting operations on their borders to catch cigarette smugglers and people bringing lower cost cigarettes across state lines.

Are you fed up with the rising cost of cigarettes and the constant increases in 'sin-taxes' that are forced onto smokers to help the states balance their budgets? I know I was.

When I discovered that my state was taking over $2 out of my pocket for each pack of cigarettes I purchased, I looked for a cheaper alternative and discovered how much Rolling Your Own Cigarettes had changed in recent years.

Even after the huge Federal Tax Increase on rolling tobacco, making your own cigarettes will cost less than half as much as most name brand cigarettes.

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Now I don't mean rolling a cigarette in the traditional sense, not like you've seen in the movies where a cowboy takes a pinch of tobacco and drops it into the paper and twists it up into something resembling a lumpy toothpick with tobacco hanging out of it.

What I'm talking about is a newer RYO method that is often referred to as Making Your Own (MYO) or Stuffing Your Own (SYO) cigarettes. Most of us don't use standard rolling papers to Roll Our Own cigarettes. Instead, we use an easy to operate 'tobacco injector' to fill pre-made filtered cigarette tubes.

The result is a cigarette which looks factory made, but Tastes Better and Saves You $$

1) Tobacco

• Start with a pouch (about $3 locally for 3/4 ounce - enough for about 1 pack of cigarettes) or small bag or can (typically 5 to 6 ounces at $20 or so with the tax increase, enough for about 1 carton) of "fine cut" rolling tobacco, or for greater savings consider a non-aromatic pipe tobacco which you can find at your local tobacconist's or smoke shop. Even your local convenience stores, supermarkets, and gas stations likely carry a few brands of tobacco suitable for rolling your own cigarettes. Please BEWARE of some of the most popular and "bulk brands", we want your initial RYO experience to be a good one!

NOTE: In other words, avoid the best selling Top and Gambler brands of RYO tobacco and the super cheap pipe tobaccos, they tend to be rather harsh and lack flavor - no offense intended to any of their fans - but there are Much Better RYO Tobaccos available. Bugler is available almost everywhere and is a good middle of the road choice, or try one of the Bali Shag, Peter Stokkebye, D & R or Natural American Spirit blends for a big step-up in quality and smokeability.

There are over 100 Brands of Roll Your Own Cigarette Tobacco and over 60 old and new Smooth Pipe Tobacco Brands available for Making Your Own Cigarettes.

2) Injector

• When you buy the tobacco you should also pick up a hand-held injection machine, trust me this isn't nearly as scary as it sounds, it has nothing to do with needles! Sometimes these hand-held devices are called "shooters", "stuffers", "cigarette making" or "tube filling" machines. A good quality hand-held injector should cost under $10. (Again, if you're buying locally you will have limited choices, avoid the Top and Zig-Zag Precision Pro Injectors.) Good hand-held units from Gizeh, El-Rey, Maiker, Premier, Zen and a few others tend to work better, especially for newcomers.

NOTE: For a little more money and for anyone who is going to stick with making their own, there are tabletop 'crank-style' injector machines. They cost from about $20 (Premier Excel, Gambler & Simron EXP1000 pictured above) to about $50 (Premier Supermatic, Republic Top-O-Matic, and similar models). These machines are MUCH Faster and Easier to operate and can consistently make dozens of cigarettes at a sitting that are indistinguishable from factory made cigarettes. There are also a few electric machines such as the NEW Mayoc and Powermatic 2 available for under $100 which promise even greater convenience and are likely a better choice for those who suffer from physical disabilities, arthritis, etc.).

Visit our Forums for more information about the variety of hand-held, tabletop crank-style and electric injectors available.

3) Cigarette Filter Tubes

• Cigarette tubes come in a box that vaguely resembles a cigarette carton. Inside the box is usually 200 to 250 filtered tubes. The tubes (or blanks as they are called in Europe) resemble a factory made filtered cigarette with the tobacco missing. In other words, it's a hollow paper tube with the filter attached. The brand you choose doesn't matter much when you are starting out, there are only a few companies who actually make the tubes and the quality is pretty consistent these days. Your main choice will be whether to buy the "Full Flavor" or "Light". For starting out I suggest getting whichever reasonably priced brand of King Size tubes are available to you locally. The box of filtered tubes should cost under $3 (slightly higher for Menthol & other specialty tubes).

NOTE: There are actually dozens of brands and tube styles available; King Size, 100mm, Shorts, Ultra Slim, "Cigarette Size", Menthol tip, Charcoal Filtered, Fruit Flavored, Brown, Black and even Unfiltered. Tubes are also manufactured with various filter lengths, filter density, paper porosity, perforated tipping paper, etc. which affects how full-flavored or light the resulting cigarette will be. But you needn't concern yourself with those details when first starting, there will be plenty of room for experimenting to find the perfect combination of tube and tobacco once you're comfortable with the process of making your own.

There are 100's of Cigarette Tubes available from dozens of brands, check out our NEW Cigarette Tubes List to see what's available and sort them by brand, strength & filter length.

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When you have your Tobacco, Injector and Tubes head over to our Getting Started Guide with step-by-step instructions and tips to help get you started Making Your Own custom cigarettes.

Advantages of Roll Your Own

When you light-up that fresh, custom made cigarette the first thing you'll notice is that it doesn't taste like the factory made cigarettes you're used to.

That's because you're likely tasting something you haven't in a long time, if ever. That's right, you're tasting the tobacco instead of the hundreds of chemicals, preservatives and artificial flavors that the big tobacco companies put into their cigarettes to hide the fact that they are made from reconstituted "sheet" tobacco, "expanded" tobacco, stems & stalks! Chemicals are often also added to the tobacco and paper to make them burn faster, so that you'll smoke (and buy) more. In addition, all factory made cigarettes from the Big Tobacco companies are now wrapped in FSC paper (see above) with even more chemicals added to reduce their ability to burn and cause fires.

Looking for more advice on which RYO Tobacco, Cigarette Tubes and Injectors to buy? Visit our RYO Community Forums for user reviews & opinions from hundreds of our members.

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If you smoke, you owe it to yourself to try RYO using the Make Your Own method! Once your body adjusts to smoking cigarette tobacco instead of factory made chemical cocktail sticks, you will likely find yourself craving cigarettes less than ever, and quite possibly you'll gain the advantage you need to quit smoking entirely (if you're so inclined).

Many people have used the RYO method as a stepping-stone to quitting, since it's likely that the chemical additives in factory made cigarettes are at least as addicting (if not more so) than the naturally occurring nicotine in Real Tobacco. Because of the higher quality tobacco and fewer chemicals, most RYO smokers soon find that they are smoking fewer cigarettes per day. Once you've converted and your body is adjusted to RYO cigarettes, smoking becomes a choice again rather than a habit. It soon becomes easier to smoke fewer cigarettes per day and quitting no longer seems like an impossible task.

Other RYO converts continue to smoke as many custom made RYO cigarettes as they had previously but can now fully enjoy the unprecedented flavor that comes from their choice of fine quality tobaccos and wide variety of filtered tubes to suit their mood. One thing is for certain, those who smoke RYO cigarettes are saving money every time they light-up.

So go ahead, stuff another tube using your new found skill, pour yourself a drink, then light-up that homemade custom cigarette and enjoy the fact that you're smoking something a lot closer to that which smokers historically enjoyed, LESS chemically altered factory produced quasi-tobacco, MORE real tobacco flavor like our forefathers smoked.

You don't need to limit yourself to the 3 or 4 Rolling Tobacco brands that you find on the shelf at your local supermarket or convenience store. There are over 150 Brands of RYO Tobacco to choose from! Please consult my List of RYO Tobacco Brands to understand the choices available to you.

There are dozens of tobacconist shops with online stores these days. I've compiled a list of the 10 Best Online RYO Shops. These great shops are ready to serve you with many brands & varieties of tobacco at discount prices suitable for you to Roll Your Own Cigarettes!

And be sure to visit the RYO Revolution Forums for personal advice or to share your opinions and interact with hundreds of RYO enthusiasts.

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