For many decades, smoking has been a habit of so many people. This process causes certain sensations in a person, which can most often be compared with pleasant ones, since to some extent the nicotine contained in tobacco has a relaxing and narcotic effect on the body. This raises the question of whether tobacco products deteriorate. If so, what is the expiration date of cigarettes? In what conditions should they be stored?
Storage time
By law, the shelf life of cigarettes is not regulated anywhere, that is, in other words, they can be stored forever. But, as practice shows, over time, they tend to deteriorate, which affects their smell, taste and sensations from the smoking process.
Storage conditions for cigarettes
Despite the fact that no clearly defined storage conditions can be found anywhere, it is known that in order to keep tobacco in a cigarette fresh for a short period, it is necessary to observe a certain humidity, to prevent light from entering cigarettes, to avoid the presence of strongly smelling substances or products near it, to ventilate the room . An equally important storage condition is temperature.
So, 70% is considered optimal humidity for cigarettes (at a temperature of 15 to 23 degrees). If this number is greater, the tobacco will become damp; if less, it will dry out. It has the ability to absorb odors, so that the product retains its aroma, you need to make sure that there is nothing near with a strong smell. Dust and similar substances are also absorbed into tobacco, therefore, if a pack of cigarettes is open for a long time, this leads to a deterioration in consumer qualities.
Storage duration
What is the expiration date of cigarettes? Even taking into account the above conditions, which are very difficult to observe at home or in a store (in a warehouse), tobacco products should not be stored for more than one year.
What is the shelf life of Marlboro, Winston or any other brand of cigarettes ? The correct answer is unlimited. They will not deteriorate, that is, they can be smoked after a long period from the date of their production, but it will be very difficult to get pleasure from the process, since the taste, smell and sensations after them will be weaker or different.
Why do cigarettes go bad?
What is the expiration date of cigarettes? Why do they go bad? There are two points that make cigarettes lose their quality: tobacco and excipients. Tobacco is dry leaves that cannot be stored forever. If you recall the plants dried in books, then over time they become fragile and simply crumble into dust. With tobacco, the story is exactly the same.
The second is various auxiliary substances that accelerate combustion. After all, tobacco itself burns very badly. And the various flavors that can be found in cigarettes with menthol, cherry, apple? These substances tend to erode.
Determination of the freshness of cigarettes and tobacco
What is the expiration date of cigarettes? How to determine their freshness? Any smoker will confirm that a high-quality cigarette with fresh tobacco has some astringency, irritates the throat, causes bitterness and a certain pinching on the tongue. At the same time, the smell from a smoked tobacco product is very saturated and pronounced. Even an unlit cigarette has a very strong aroma if it was made recently.
Accordingly, in the absence of the above properties, it can be concluded that the cigarettes are old.
The appearance of cigarettes also says a lot. The filter should have a bright yellow color, not faded. If cigarettes are with a white filter, then the paper should also be white, and not with yellowness. It should be smooth, without bruises and signs of aging. In a fresh cigarette, tobacco is clogged evenly and does not get enough sleep if you lift it with the filter up. The seams on the tobacco paper should be smooth and without tearing, and the connection of the cigarette with the filter should be reliable.
Two more ways to determine the age of cigarettes
Price. As a rule, a smoker knows exactly the price of tobacco products, which does not differ in different stores. Therefore, if a pack of cigarettes is much cheaper, we can conclude that this is an old purchase.
Pack design. Most well-known brands at least once a year update the appearance of a cigarette pack. Changes may be minor, but they are always there. People who prefer to buy the same cigarettes probably know the history of changes in the appearance of their favorite product, so a return to the old one really speaks of the staleness of cigarettes.
Why not smoke old tobacco products?
First of all, because you cannot enjoy smoking old cigarettes. They do not have the qualities of fresh tobacco. Secondly, cigarettes themselves are poison, and with a long shelf life, carcinogens begin to accumulate in them, which, during smoking, enter the human body and cause additional harm.
Pipe tobacco storage
What is the expiration date of cigarettes - we have already found out. Now let's talk about how much tobacco is stored for a pipe. Unlike cigarettes, it can be stored much longer. In most small cities it is very difficult to find a quality product, and it is ordered through the Internet in huge quantities. At the same time, the shelf life of different varieties of tobacco is very different. The plug-in can lie for several decades in a package and not change its taste characteristics at all. Flavored tobacco can be stored for no more than two to three years. Virginia dry tobacco in sealed packaging can safely lie for five years, and at the same time its quality will only improve, since it has the property to ripen, like good varieties of wines.
An important point in the storage of such tobacco is the lack of sunlight, air access, that is, sealed packaging, and most importantly, the initial quality of the tobacco. Fakes cannot be stored for so long.
Most cigarettes sold in the Russian Federation are made from the lowest grades of tobacco, which also affects the shelf life.
To smoke or not to smoke is everyone’s personal choice, but if you indulge in this addiction, you should make sure that the cigarettes are of high quality and stored until opening for no more than a year. That is why it makes no sense to collect cigarettes in stock, in order to save money, since they are constantly getting more expensive. A smoker in this case has every chance then, over time, to consume an exhausted product.
Take care of your health!