Paper; what strange stuff

Have you ever thought about cigarette paper? In the mill where I used to work we made over 100 grades of the stuff.

What do you think the paper has to do? Hold the tobacco together? yes, but what else? Well one thing, it has to burn at the same rate as the tobacco inside it. If it burns too quickly, it will burn faster than the tobacco and eventually the ignited tip will fall off and burn a hole in your trousers, or dress or blanket. If the paper burns too slowly, the 'coal' of the cigarette will not get enough oxygen, and it will go out, so you will have to keep relighting it.

When you draw deeply on a cigarette, the coal can get up to about 1400 C (or just over 2500 F). No wonder they can do so much damage.

The paper also controls the type of ash you see on a cig. Some chemicals, on the cheaper brands, produce a very particulate, fly-away type of ash. The smooth talking suits don't really want their expensive immaculate image to be less than perfect, so they will buy a more expensive cigarette. The paper on the expensive cigs contains a different set of chemicals. These chemicals make the ash very hard and clingy, its a bit more difficult to knock it off into the ash tray, and of course it stays off the suits!

So now, when you are sat opposite a designer suited smoker, you can make a bit of a judgement about their character. Are they a designer through and through with a cigarette to match their suit? Or are they a cheapskate in a designer suit?

Paper is all around us, but how may of us give it a second thought? It can bring us good news, if we get a cheque from the government, bad news if its a bill or parking ticket, sad news if it is the death certificate of a loved one or it can make us hold our breath if we are clutching a lottery ticket and all the numbers that have been drawn so far are ours!

More paper pondering to come in the future