Cigarettes as trading stock?

[Ura-Ki]

Im a pipe smoker, so i keep a stash of tobacco vac sealed and rotated through my stock. I would think loose leaf roll your own would be a good way to keep a stash long term, and you could ration it out in small quantities for trade as needed!

 

[Kruel J]

I guarantee someone will be shot for a cigarette within 24 hours of a big event!

Pretty sure that happens often in large cities like Chiraq.

 

[USMC-03]

Won't bother with tobacco as potential trade good, but pints of mediocre vodka will last, have broad appeal and a nice size for both transportation and exchange.

 

[SUPER X]

I don't personally smoke cigarettes, having given up the habit over twenty years ago. My wife never has, to the best of my recollection. (I do enjoy the occasional fine cigar, but that is another matter.) A fictional work I am currently reading reminded me of how the product is used as a form of currency in various times and places, including after disasters. A lot of people in this area smoke and it got me to thinking of stashing a carton or two away as trading stock.

Thoughts on this? Do they go bad and, if so, could this be prevented by shrink-wrapping? (The Youtube personality MRE Steve often smokes cigarettes from K and C rations (and similar), and reports they are fine, so I'd imagine they keep well.) What brand(s) to consider? (I smoked Camels back in the day and that seems like a common national brand.)

Bulk Tabacco and papers would be better it's not taxed the way cigs are.if someone needs a smoke they don't care what brand it is when options are thin.

 

[SUPER X]

Im a pipe smoker, so i keep a stash of tobacco vac sealed and rotated through my stock. I would think loose leaf roll your own would be a good way to keep a stash long term, and you could ration it out in small quantities for trade as needed!

Can tabbaco be frozen long term to keep it from going stale.

 

[CountryGent]

Bulk Tabacco and papers would be better it's not taxed the way cigs are.if someone needs a smoke they don't care what brand it is when options are thin.

Good points all around. (I was talking of this idea with my wife earlier and we seemed to recall cigarettes bought on tribal land are not subject to the state tax BS. Neither of us smoke cigarettes, though the old man likes an occasional cigar, so this information was gleaned from sources other than firsthand. However, there are tribal nations in the general area, so might as well check.)

 

[Ura-Ki]

Long term, tobacco needs to be sealed air tight with o2 absorbers, or it needs to be kept in a humidor! Ether way, the shelf life is just about indefinite! For humidor storage of loose leaf, you should "stir" every week or so, if possable with out opening and letting in o2, small units you can usually shake them and that should be enough! For rolled/paperd tobacco like cigs, your kind of limited, especially if kept vac sealed, where with loose leaf, you can knead it from outside the package! Best practice is to load some heavy card stock in a humidor and let it "Soak" for a week and then vac seal with an o2 absorber!

 

[SUPER X]

Good points all around. (I was talking of this idea with my wife earlier and we seemed to recall cigarettes bought on tribal land are not subject to the state tax BS. Neither of us smoke cigarettes, though the old man likes an occasional cigar, so this information was gleaned from sources other than firsthand. However, there are tribal nations in the general area, so might as well check.)

Seneca has a bulk bag of Tabacco that sales under another name as pipe Tabacco 18 bucks for 16 oz. Don't buy online they government is obtaining sales records and sending out bills for back taxes to buyers.and believe it or not it is Oregon.

 

[CountryGent]

Seneca has a bulk bag of Tabacco that sales under another name as pipe Tabbaco 18 bucks for 16 oz. Don't buy online they government is obtaining sales records and sending out bills for back taxes to buyers.and believe it or not it is Oregon.

Sad, but true on the state taxes and Interweb sales. Years ago I bought a quantity of cigars from an importing firm in Florida and had to file a tobacco tax return and a small tax to Salem. Brainless? Very much so. And, yet, here we are. (As I've held various FFL licensing, then and now, I'm fastidious about not running afoul of any laws, however questionable they may be.)

 

[zenbreath]

As far as the brands to stock pile, ask a 7-11 clerk, Marb Red.

 

[zenbreath]

Think of premium cigarettes as factory ammo and bulk tobacco and rolling paper as reloading supplies.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Can tabbaco be frozen long term to keep it from going stale.

No! Freezing will cause the moisture to crystallize and seporate out! Short term it will taste funky and burn erratically as you hit dry and wet, longer term depends on how it was packaged, if done with o2 absorbers and vac sealed, then it should last pretty much forever, and freezing wouldnt really help any way! If you can dehydrate it, and then freeze it, that may extend the life, but you would then have to slowely bring the moisture back up! Most modern cig tobacco has preservitives in it and flavor enhancements like cacco, and its meant to be dry as a bone, taste like chit and smokes hot and fast!
Old school LuckyStrikes were the premium brand becasue they tasted great, and didnt have all the additives, and didnt require a filter to tame them like a Marlborough Red, amd most importantly, they were packaged properly which Korean war era Lucky's still smoke and taste good!
If your doing it for your self, stash a few cartons of "555" brand golds and enjoy!

 

[Joe13]

Personally, I would buy bulk pipe tobacco and vacuum pack it in Mason jars.

Anyone with a little knife skills can fashion a usable pipe and that tobacco is stronger then normal cigs so less should go further.

I started smoking cigs for a year at 18 and since have been thru short periods of occasional pipe or cigar use (very rare but once in a while).

You could have a small pouch of loose tobacco vs having a pack of cigs so if you got robbed you wouldn't be out as much...


Only mentioning it as it was mentioned earlier but I would stock everclear and water it down for trade. It's probably more cost efficient then good whiskey or whatever and can be used for a lot of other things like medical etc.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Any one who smokes should have a decent Brier Pipe, as that will allow you to smoke any tobacco you find, cig or cigar tobacco can be loaded up in a good Brier and enjoyed with out rolling or any work at all! And if the Funky Green Wacky Tobaccy is your thing, then a pipe works there as well, especially if using it for medicinal purposes!

 

[CountryGent]

Any one who smokes should have a decent Brier Pipe, as that will allow you to smoke any tobacco you find, cig or cigar tobacco can be loaded up in a good Brier and enjoyed with out rolling or any work at all! And if the Funky Green Wacky Tobaccy is your thing, then a pipe works there as well, especially if using it for medicinal purposes!

I've got a few pipes around here somewhere (I think on top of the gun cabinet). There's at least one Brier and a Corn-cob. I think I got rid of the one Turkish Meerschaum for reasons I don't recall. One funny memory from early fatherhood was working in the yard one bleak fall evening and then seeing a little Potato looking through the window; followed by me doing a tugboat "toot-toot" with the pipe and my scarred up right arm, to her very great amusement.

(We don't do the "green wacky tobaccy", for various reasons, legally and medically, but goodness knows that sure is a "thing" in these parts.)

 

[OldBroad44]

Suggested trade goods: salt, pepper, common spices, matches, aspirin, tylenol, .22lr ammo, and garden seed of all kinds, esp. flint corn, dry beans, and winter squash.

 

[revjen45]

1) Ammo? I would be careful about who I traded with, but single rds. of .22lr would indeed be one of the small units of currency.
2) In such times the law would be pretty much irrelevant, so gigglebush would indeed be a viable trade commodity. High CBD strains would be valuable in the absence if Big Pharma's products. That would also be true for other medicinal herbs as well when that's what you have.
3) Toilet Paper - Yup! Gyno-Hygiene products too. Soap would be a survival commodity for those who don't want to die of the squirts. (See also: Toilet paper) Don't dig the outhouse next to the well.
4) Distilled spirits - of course. Can also be manufactured when NOS runs out.
5) Cig tobacco chems: Actually the # of adulterants in cig tobacco is >600, which when burned produce about 7000 chemical by-products. A cig and a book/box of matches actually makes a decent improvised fuse and igniter due to the added chems. Keeping a pipe lit has to be learned, and a cigar will go out if you stop drawing on it. The manufacturers want to make sure that when you light up a cig it will continue to burn to the end to discourage saving a partial, so you will have to light another.
6) Given that tobacco is more addictive than heroin (I have no experience with smack, but I knew a junkie who told me that was true.) the now bereft smokers would be desperate. Stress makes smokers want to smoke, so true even more so. An addict lighting up with shaking hands probably won't care if it's stale. For sure people would be going to violence over tobacco. Having something that people will kill for and you don't care about is an ideal situation.
7) Other pharmaceuticals, undoubtedly.
8) Batteries.

 

[slimmer13]

Less than 10% of the US population smokes, and that number is even lower in Or. You'd be better off with pain meds, antibiotics, or good old fashioned gold and silver. Finely loaded brass never goes out of style either.

Here in the NW, if you had a supply of fixins for soy lattes and kombucha tea, you'd live like a king in the apocalypse

 

[Basedgreaser]

Maybe a good idea. Camel 99's marlboro black or reds.
My personal recomendation American Spirits.
Taste great for a cig.
Pipe tobacco or bagged tobacco would be a cheaper and better investment for time and space, filters are a luxury and pipes are easy to make. Just ask any highschool stoner with a school lunch apple.
I like pipes more but sticks are a nice luxury. Also heavily consider CAFFEINE!!! COFFEE. caffeine and nicotene are americas biggest drug addictions.

 

[The Heretic]

Won't bother with tobacco as potential trade good, but pints of mediocre vodka will last, have broad appeal and a nice size for both transportation and exchange.

Yes - tobacco doesn't store well in my experience. It dries out. Ask any cigar or pipe smoker.

Alcohol generally only gets better with age. Also, inexpensive vodka is often indistinguishable from high end vodka.

We Held a Taste Test of Costco's Vodka Against Name-Brand Bottles