May 20th 2020, A Farewell To Menthol?

May 20th 2020, Menthol Ban

Are you the sort of smoker who loves the refreshing relaxation provided by a mentholated cigarette or hand rolling tobacco? With over 90 years on shelves these products have become a large part of smoking culture and the go-to choice for many. Usually these products utilise menthol extracted from distilled corn mint oil or made synthetically, these can then be added during multiple stages of the manufacturing process. Recently you have more than likely heard the news that due to The European Union Revised Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU), all cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco containing the addition of menthol flavouring will be prohibited from sale in the UK as of May 20th. With no sell through period retailers will be unable to sell any stock they have remaining after this date and face penalties if found doing so. If you have been a lifelong devotee to a menthol cigarette or tobacco, alarm bells are surely ringing. But fear not, for we at The Pipe Shop have collated a few alternatives to this dilemma. A plethora of options are still available and some can be used in combination with each other to attain an even stronger menthol experience than offered by on the shelf menthol cigarettes and tobacco.

Alternatives

Frizc Flavour Cards

Frizc flavour cards have been popular with our customers for a couple of years now. Cheap and easy to use these cards come in 8 different flavours. Simply remove the foil wrapper and place inside either your tobacco packet, or in a ziplock bag with your filters or even papers. Leave for between 30 and 45 minutes to let it saturate your product of choice. Be careful to keep an eye on it as a matter of just 10 minutes could be the difference between just right and overpowering. Flavour cards work in perfect harmony with the Auld Kendal Gold fine cut hand rolling tobacco or Kendal Gold rough cut, due to them being mild tasting and easy going tobaccos. Other companies are trying to emulate the Frizc Flavour Cards as we draw closer to the ban, but Frizc had the foresight to manufacture these to capitalise upon the ban of flavoured rolling tobacco and cigarettes back in 2016.

4 Different Variants Of Frizc Flavour Cards

Rough Cut Menthol Tobacco

The next option we are going to discuss is rough cut mentholated tobacco. This is available in a gold version as the mild tobacco allows the user to really taste the menthol without the nicotine overpowering it. This tobacco has been immensely popular for years. Cut to a slightly thicker consistency than that of regular roll your own tobacco, this allows the rough cut to fall into a different taxation bracket based solely on shred. Pipe tobacco has not been prohibited from using flavours as it is deemed a non-inhalable tobacco. Do not be confused though, this is not a pipe tobacco and is no more difficult to roll than fine cut tobacco. The price of rough cut tobacco is also considerably less than that of fine cut as it is taxed less due to the thickness of the shred, known commonly as ‘shag’. There is also a Gold Cherry Menthol and Mixed Cherry Menthol available along with a Gold Menthol & Mint.

Kendal Gold Menthol Rough Cut Tobacco

Menthol Tubes & Cigarette Tubing Machines

Long time users of the cigarette tubing machines and tubes already know that the rough cut tobacco distributes evenly through the tubes when compared to that of the fine cut. Empty cigarette tubes come in packs of 100 and 200 and are available in both regular and menthol. It’s relatively easy to pick up, taking only an evening or two of practice to get used to the cigarette tubing machine process. The main trick is not over filling the machine as this will cause the paper on the tube to tear at the seams.

Different Brands Of Cigarette Tubes

Menthol Filter Tips

Probably the most well known option for achieving the menthol effect are the many different mentholated filter tips on the market. From Rizla and Zig-Zag to Sharrow and Swan, there’s a whole host of sizes available to make sure everyones catered for. Some are wrapped in paper to help seal between the filter and paper whilst many are just traditional plain cotton. For many years, mentholated filters have been the most conventional way to be able to control your menthol smoking experience. That being said this is the weakest way of the above options when used on its own, though some people will prefer this more subtle experience.

Sharrow King Size Menthol Tips

In Conclusion

Entering the last 100 day leg until the menthol ban, we are more confident than ever that menthol smokers should not be perturbed and instead feel optimistic about trying these various options. The variety on offer and multiple possible combinations guarantees that there should be a way to please even the most discerning of smokers. All the options are reasonably priced and should not increase your weekly spend, especially if you are moving from fine cut rolling tobacco or cigarettes to rough cut tobacco. All these products are available from our website to order. We hope this has helped to relieve any anxiety that has been caused in the run up to May 20th.