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Item of Interest to Pipesmokers

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Themayor:
FYI...................

A Natural
By Editor
Here is something I have wanted to explore for a while: where do the numbers come from for the 4,000 chemicals listed in cigarette tobacco?

Got no idea?

Well, I went to the web to look for some answers. I don’t trust everything I read on the web, of course, but it is a place to start a hunt.

For example, click here to see a list of 43 known carcinogens in cigarette tobacco.

And click here for another site that lists the 43 known carcinogens in cigarette tobacco.

All this got me to wondering: if there are that many chemicals in cigarette tobacco, and those 43 known carcinogens, then what is in pipe tobacco?

I went to one of the big manufacturers, Cornell & Diehl, in Morgantown, N.C., to ask that question.

My first question was: “I know all kinds of stuff are added to cigarettes. Is that true for pipe tobacco? If so, what?

“Well,” says Craig Tarler, owner of C&D, “I have no idea what fertilizers or pesticides are used in the field. However, whatever they are, they meet USDA standards.”

Tarler says to make no mistake, the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration law will make it even more specific what can and cannot be used in tobacco fields, if the product is to be sold in American markets.

“That will work because already, most of the Middle East Tobaccos we get are raised under those strict (USDA) circumstances. It is approved stuff,” he says.

Okay, so what does C&D and other manufacturers add to the tobacco leaf once they get it in house?

“Well, when the tobacco comes in to us, it is either flu cured or air dried. It has been threshed to get rid of all the stems. It’s just like it came out of the fields, without the stems, and having been dried,” says Tarler.

“Now, we put a chemical on it, called calcium propionate, the food grade variety. This is a food grade mold inhibitor that is found in many foods that people eat,” says Tarler.

A science encyclopedia says that “Calcium propionate is an organic salt formed by the reaction of calcium hydroxide with propionic acid (also known as propanoic acid). Its chemical formula is Ca(OOCCH2CH3)2. The compound occurs in either crystalline or powder form. It is soluble in water and only very slightly soluble in alcohol.

“Calcium propionate is used as a food preservative in breads and other baked goods because of its ability to inhibit the growth of molds and other microorganisms. It is not toxic to these organisms, but does prevent them (mold and microorganisms) from reproducing and posing a health risk to humans.

“Propionic acid occurs naturally in some foods and acts as a preservative in those foods. Some types of cheese, for example, contain as much as 1% natural propionic acid.”

Tarler says that nothing is added to the English blend tobaccos, except for the calcium propionate. Oh, yes, some distilled water just before the tobacco heads out the door. That’s it.

“When we get to aromatic blends, as far as C&D is concerned, we use food grade flavors, such as strawberry and chocolate. It is guaranteed food grade, or some natural flavors like whiskey or sugar.”

The “sauce” on aromatics amounts to no more than 5 milligrams per pound. A food grade propylene glycol, another mold inhibitor, is added to the aromatics.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says propylene glycol “is a clear, colorless, slightly syrupy liquids at room temperature. It may exist in air in the vapor form, although propylene glycol must be heated or briskly shaken to produce a vapor. Propylene glycol is practically odorless and tasteless.

“Propylene glycol is used to make antifreeze and deicing solutions for cars, airplanes, and boats; to make polyester compounds; and as solvent in the paint and plastics industries.

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified propylene glycol as an additive that is ‘generally recognized as safe’ for use in food. It is used to absorb extra water and maintain moisture in certain medicines, cosmetics, or food products. It is a solvent for food colors and flavors.”

“It actually tastes pretty sweet,” says Tarler.

No nicotine is added to any of his tobaccos, Tarler says. It is in the leaf naturally, and that’s it.

Tarler, in true competitive fashion, says he does not know what other manufacturers do. “Nor have I ever asked.

“This is what we do.”

So where do those 4,000 chemicals and 43 known carcinogens come from?

The best guess is that the cigarette tobacco firms are adding them to the tobacco.

As for pipe tobacco, C&D’s attitude of not adding anything, other than mold inhibitors, is more or less a pipe tobacco industry standard.

In other words, pipe tobacco, with the exceptions of food grade additives, is as natural as the day it arrived from the field.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 27th, 2009 at 11:16 am and is filed under General, News, Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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