FYO: Flavor-Your-Own Cigarettes

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By Nattira Medvedeva

With latest regulations placing bans on flavored and menthol cigarettes, consumers are increasingly finding it much more difficult to enjoy their smoking experience. Luckily, industry manufacturers have proven to be quick in introducing new products that help provide flavor for tobacco products without breaking the law, allowing smokers to flavor their own cigarette or cigar.

Those who are fans of roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes or cigars can use flavored rolling papers, like Juicy Jay’s paper. Juicy Jay’s rolling papers are fully-flavored papers, not just at the gum strip, produced with a proprietary triple-dipped flavoring system. The papers come in a wide variety of flavors, from fruit flavors like banana, grape, pineapple, etc. to delicious treats like peaches and cream, butterscotch, Jamaican rum, peanut butter, tequila, and more. Juicy Jay’s papers come in different sizes: 1¼ (most popular for standard cigarettes), 1¼ superfine, king size, and rolls (15 ft. of flavored paper, on a roll). The company also offers pre-rolled cones and “flavornators” – an alcohol-based additive that can provide flavor.

Also available as a do-it-yourself flavoring option are TipTime flavored filters.

“TipTime is a filter that adds extra flavor to your cigarette whenever you wish,” said Bas Ravelli, general manager, V.C.T Fine Tobacco Products B.V. (VCT). “TipTime is very easy to use: simply attach the Tip to your cigarette and instantly enjoy the flavor. When you no longer fancy a flavor, just remove the Tip from your cigarette, and keep it for later use. The flavor is absorbed in the filter so when you attach it to a cigarette and take a puff you immediately taste [the flavor].”

TipTime filters were first launched at the InterTabac exhibition in Dortmund, Germany in September last year. After InterTabac VCT launched TipTime in their home market, the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). The filters are now also available in Chili, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, with the company in talks with distributors in other markets to distribute the product.

At the moment TipTime only comes in menthol, but the company might be introducing new flavors in future. “However, it depends on whether consumers truly want other flavors than menthol,” said Ravelli.

“FDA and EU TPD regulation has no effect on this product,” explained Ravelli, “because it is a smoking accessory. Both regulations are related specifically to tobacco, i.e. actual cigarettes or cigars, and e-cigarettes and e-Liquids. As the flavoring is in a separate filter that can be attached to a cigarette, we don’t foresee short-term (2-5 years) problems.” So it seems that TipTime filters could be a long-term option for consumers looking to flavor their smokes.

Another flavoring choice for smokers would be nifty flavor cards, such as Itsa or Frizc cards. Itsa was created by NeuMillenial LLC of Finland, and currently comes in six flavors: mint chill, mint blueberry, mint raspberry, mint lime, mellow peach, and cherry drop. The Itsa flavor card uses food grade GRAS-certified ingredients so is completely safe. NeuMillenial first developed its aroma transfer technology and scented paper product concept in 2011, followed by developing its flavor transfer technology in 2013. Then they developed a flavor and aroma card product initially targeting dry teas and dry herbs. Itsa was finally launched in 2016.

Frizc flavor cards were created by Opes Corporation. Frizc flavor cards are made using smart evaporation, which is a new innovation developed and patented by the company. Any flavor, scent, or functional chemical can be transferred to a surface, thus enabling active evaporation. Like Itsa, Frizc also uses food-grade ingredients. Frizc comes in flavors double apples, raspberry, watermelon, pure menthol, peach, menthol and raspberry, menthol and lime, menthol and licorice, menthol and cool mint, menthol and blueberry, licorice, blueberry, and cherry.

To use the flavor cards, consumers would simply have to drop the flavor card, in the tobacco, herb, or even the pack, leave it for some time, and voila! – the cigarettes are flavored.