Long term storage of cigarettes

Ok, the price of smokes is seriously going through the roof here in blighty.

Can anyone here share their tips on how to maximise long term storage of sealed cartons of cigarettes?
Is there a special item that can be put near them to prevent the tobacco drying out over time?

I suppose in a SITX or aftermath if you're bartering cigarettes then dry ones are better than no-ones I suppose.
It'd be interesting to hear what's worth trying.

reply to post by WatchRider


I haven't tried it over a long period of time, but freezing them works pretty well. Maybe try to vac seal them before freezing. That might work until the power goes out and then smoke em if you got em

A humidor is best. I have found that freezing dries them out.

In the short term if price and all the extra chemicals they spray your smokes with is a concern you could try growing your own, I have heard it is much cheaper than buying cigarettes and not as challenging as you might imagine.

this website might help www.coffinails.com...
this quote comes from their FAQ section

Will my tobacco go off ?
No. You can reasonably keep your tobacco for unlimited periods of time providing you store it correctly. Like wine, it mellows with age

certainly being able to grow tobacco for bartering might be useful 'after the flood' so to speak.


[edit on 18-7-2010 by Arkady]

You know those little silicon packages you sometimes see in packages of food? Maybe keep some of those. I think charcoal abosorbs water, maybe some kind of charcoal package. That might give an odor or taste to the cigarettes though.
Maybe a package of baking soda will work better.

I could go into a long list of stuff that would be good to stockpile.

But in the end, having stuff is only going to be useful if you can defend it. There are going to be people who are going to decide it is easier just to kill you.

You may imagine yourself peacefully trading a bit of this for a bit of that, but always be prepared that things won't go so peacefully. The more things you have that others want, the more of a target you will be.

reply to post by jessieg


Those are packets of silica gel and they're designed to ABSORB moisture to prevent food from spoiling. You'd want to do the opposite with cigarettes.

Maybe you could make some tobacco jello.

Use clear flavorless geletin and cover your tobacco with that. Use some water, but not enough to make a wobbly jelly, but sort of a firm jelly, like soft plastic. That could keep it from drying out. It sounds funny and I don't know if anyone has ever done that, but maybe it would work.

Then you could store your tobacco jello in glass canning jars with a wax seal on top, for extra protection.

Cigs come in air tight packaging called a cellophane.

The cellophane does not allow moisture to escape in any noticeable way.

So the original packaging should keep it fresh for a few months at least.

I have heard rumors that keeping it in the freezer can prolong it's life for up to 6+ months. But it might dry it out in the process. Worth a shot maybe.

Also many people claim that a refrigerator is a best bet. It can last for several months in there they claim.

Oh and a humidor if you have one, you can place your opened cigs in there and they will last for a good long while too.

Originally posted by Brentnauer
reply to post by jessieg

 

Those are packets of silica gel and they're designed to ABSORB moisture to prevent food from spoiling. You'd want to do the opposite with cigarettes.

Eh, yall are picky.

I just smoke.

I will smoke super old dried out tobacco.

Nicotine is nicotine after all!

But I must say, I never noticed a difference between old cigs and fresh ones....

Freezing tobacco does dry it out.

Like mentioned the cellophane itself "should" get it airtight, but if I were storing for the long term I wouldn't trust it.

I would get one of the vac and seal products that vacuums all the air from the package and creates a nice seal.

Originally posted by muzzleflash

But I must say, I never noticed a difference between old cigs and fresh ones....

I don't guess you've smoked an old cigarette, or we have differing definitions of old.

I've smoked a cigaretted I found behind my pc desk that had to have been there atleast a month, but more likely around 4.

Made me wonder how bad my addiction was, if I was willing to smoke that nasty mofo and that maybe I had "hit bottom". I lowered the bar on hitting bottom, I figured when I was raiding ashtrays at WalMart it was time for a change.

No luck yet though.

Long term processed cigarette storage would be challenging. I agree with vacuum sealing them, but dont freeze them over a long period of time. The moisture in the tabacco will crystalize and dry them out.
Instead, if you have a safe place that you can put the vac-sealed items underground, you might find that useful. The regular temp and mild moisture should help them last longer than room temp or freezing.
If they are to be part of a SIT-X long term survival kit that you are storing at a remote site, then they should last a while. I wouldnt venture them lasting more than 6-9 months though, in any circumstance before they start to stale.

Growing your own is an excellent idea, as once it is cured, you can store it in a cool, dark place and it should last for more than a year.

Check out this site for more information on drying, hydrating, and storing tobacco long term.

Probably people would eventually be pleased just to have anything resembling a smoke.

If you found yourself in a post nuclear fall out world or if the grid went down or whatever, people might be picky at first and want the good stuff. Some people would quit smoking because it wouldn't be worth it any more. But for some people, they'd smoke a dried cow patty cigarette if they were desperate.

I think some some country they actually do make cigarettes out of animal dung, if the animal had be feasting on tobacco.

reply to post by WatchRider


I buy my cigs online from a reputable company. Pay by CC and they ship free, all I pay is the duties at Canada post and it still comes to 50% of the price here in Canada (Plus they are Kingsize Camel filters)

If you'd like the info, U2U me and I will send to you. (I haven't bought cigs locally for over a year now, and saved plenty of dosh )

[edit on 18-7-2010 by TortoiseKweek]

I had about 8 packs of Camels that I bought at least 15 years ago set aside that I was keeping as collectors.
They had the guys from Joe Camel's blues band across the packs.

Anyway, I've recently smoked a few packs here and there, and was surprised by how mellow, and well, tasty they were.

I kept the packs in tin containers, and yes, the containers were Camel memorabilia too.

Beyond that, most anything I want to last for a while, I use my Foodsaver on.

[edit on 18-7-2010 by Oaktree]

Your lungs automatically store them for you - as tumors.

Do not freeze, this will dry them out.
Vacum Seal then place on bottom shelf of the refrigerator. They will keep for years this way.

Odd, I must have a stay moist freezer as I found a pound of McClintock in there that was priced at $18.99 so that makes it definitely before April 1, 2009 when the tax increase on bulk went into effect. It is also cut as halfzware shag like Drum or Bali Shag is. which made it packaged as a thin, moist cut compared to commercial cigarettes like Marlboro.

Pulled it out of the freezer last week and it is just as moist and jamming my tube stuffer as it ever was. Smokes like normal as well with no stale, dried out taste nor unusual after taste. But I have not done a hand roll to give a final opinion as to quality, sans filter, yet. Maybe I got lucky?

If your tabac is dry, toss a piece of bread in with it. The moisture from the bread will migrate to the tobacco.

This thread poses a really good question, because even if you don't smoke, I could see cigarettes becoming a pretty powerful form of currency in a post-SHTF world. Kind of like the way they are a near-universal prison currency now. And if any of you remember the cold war, Western cigarettes were a favorite bribe/passport/palm-greaser behind the Iron Curtain and throughout the third world.

You know, whiskey/scotch/burbon (the "brown liquors") last longer than even most wines, and I imagine a few cases of the the good stuff could take you far in a world gone mad.