RYO Magazine, Letters to the Editor, Federal, state and local Tobacco legislation

There is no better resource for information on issues that affect the rights of our citizenry than correspondence from those very citizens. If you have comments or questions, please do us all the favor of sharing them. Please send you e-mails to:
Letters to the Editor

We will post a sampling of your communications as we receive them. Every single one of the thousands we receive is important to us. Obviously, because of space limitations we cannot place them all here but I assure you that we respond to each and every one. The following are ones we have selected as they concern issues that many of our readers are interested in.
Thanks - The Editor

Joe Clemson writes:

Hello, my name is Joe Clemson and I wish to thank you for your publication. It is long overdue and a most welcome addition to any RYO library. My wife Sharon and I have been involved with this industry for 10 years now, especially with the folks at CTC. We have been dealers of their products for quite a few years now and are seeing an upswing is business. We are in the process of redesigning and reposting our web site. Hope to have it completed and on line is a month. I am quite interested in advertising with you and if the need arises, writing for you as well.

Thank you again for a enlightening publication. Nice to see folks that care and are knowledgeable.

Joseph Clemson

Doug Swinhart writes:

Recently you wrote an article on the Supermatic II. All that you stated seemed quite accurate. The only thing I wish you would have included was the address and or phone number for the company. I can't seem to locate them. I have a Supermatic II and have enjoyed using it for quite some time. But I'm now in need of a couple small parts for repair.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Douglas

RYO Magazine responds:

Thanks for visiting Douglas. The best way to contact CTC for parts and repair instructions is through their toll free number which is 888-321-8823

Hello,

I started to use hand-rolling tobacco (drum or samson) about a year ago, when I got to know a bit of the things that the big cigarrettes brands were mixing with the tobacco (ammonia and stuff like that).

I don't know if it was a psicological thing or if the hand rolling tobacco really didn't have all the adictive adds, but since then I don't need to smoke all the time, but I enjoy the act of smoking, when i do. Of course I smoke a whole less that I did when I used marlboro lights...now is not like i have to smoke all the time.

The thing I would like to know is if I can get somewhere a chemical/organical composition comparative of several brands of cigarettes and several brands of hand rolling tobacco, to know the exact difference between marlboros and drum or samson.

Thanks in advance,

Daniel

I have a question about Gizeh Roll Boxes. Where are they made and how
available are replacement parts? I am from Greensboro, NC, and I have
checked every tobacco store in the city, but no Gizeh. I have seen
replacement parts for Rizla boxes. I have read both of your articles about
Gizeh and Rizla and would really like a Gizeh. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,

Chad Mills

Hi
I realise this must be quite a common question, but if I keep to only 5 ryo's a day will it really affect my health that much? Will i be able to keep it at that number?

Kind reagrds and thanks in advance.

Stu

Dear RYO,
I bought a supermatic over a year ago and love it. I recently borrowed it to a friend and he jammed it a few times without remembering my warning. The machine still works but now every cigarette feels like its jamming it and not enough tobacco is placed in the cigarette. I long lost the papers that came with the machine. Is there a way to contact the company (perhaps they made a leap to internet) to order parts or am I out of luck and have to buy a new one? Also thank you for providing a link to someone that sells Drum tobacco! I've been searching for awhile since they don't sell it around here.
Thanks again,

Pete

I am a long time smoker. I started at an early age and quit when I was in my early 30's. I resumed smoking (it was a conscious choice) about 9 months ago. I returned to my favorite cigarette, Marlboro 100's but found the price increase in the last 12yrs ridiculous. I fell back on old skills, when I was economically challenged, and took up the Bugler banner and rolled them for awhile.

Finding rolling my own not always convenient I tried several cheaper brands of packaged smokes. None of them come close for me in the flavor department.

UNTIL NOW!!!!!!!!

I purchased a Supermatic II and have found stuffing my own to be cost effective and even therapeutic, maybe like knitting I guess. I find I smoke less because I'm getting real smoking satisfaction again with what I assume can only be better tobacco.

Ollin

I found your online magazine and loved it. I have some ideas for you. I know that doesnt mean much but here they are. Have you thought about starting a tip section on making your own such as using the tubes or machines, also have you thought about linking to some online stores that sell the products you are reviewing. It was just a thought.

James

Hello,

I am finding it difficult to find a true "wholesaler" of ready-made cigarette tobacco. I'm speaking of real bulk of 50-100 lbs. or more. Any ideas for true sources of this?

Thanks for your time,

Ben

Would like to thank you for providing the link to Ziggymart for Turkish Special tobacco. At present I'm alternating the Turkish with the Dutch Blend from D&R Tobacco. Both have a great taste and am once more really enjoying a smoke. Plus a pouch of Gauloises every so often. Up to my ass in tobacco and tubes!! I spent many years in Europe and Asia and am somewhat spoiled when it comes to a good cigarette. Don't care for pipes. What I really, really want is the blend used to make the Balkan Sobranie.

I still have some of the 10 count tins, just to torture myself since they disappeared from the market. I have found some 50g pouches listed on some German sites, but is there anywhere you know of to get the Sobranie blend in bulk, even from Europe? I'm more than willing to endure the shipping
time and expense for such a great smoke. Love reading your mag and can't wait for the next issue. Thanx.

Richard

Dear RYO folks,

I can't believe it's taken me so long to stumble upon ryo magazine. (i am now hitting myself over the head with a presta deluxe.) great articles, well produced, and nicely concieved overall. i've been an ryo-myo enthusiast for over 20 years, still remember the zig zags in the red pack, good ole' "piss yellows" as we called them...blah blah. the reviews of injectors/tubes were especially helpful. my first exposure to these curious smoking implements was in canada, aeons ago, watching a pensioner in a greyhound station knocking out dozens of smokes on a well used supermatic. it looked to me at the time, like some sort of odd office equipment. it still does. granted the new model looks like something from the executive suite. (or part of the door assembly from a luxury car) that experience, and seeing all the kits available, led me to purchase an injector. the dreaded afore- mentioned presta. surprisingly, it's now a decade old, and still works magnificently. just used it a few seconds ago to fill an el rey tube with stokers' #2. obviously, i'm still planningon getting my hands on a supermatic oran exel, but my trusty old pressta simply refuses to die. love the ryo site, and look forward to visiting often. keep up the good work!

cheers,

Robert

Hello RYO Magazine,

Having just discovered the world of roll your own a few days ago I wanted to let you folks know how impressed I am with your web site. Fantastic!

An acquaintance of mine mentioned that he rolled his own smokes (we were discussing how inexpensive a carton is across the border in Canada from Detroit at the duty free shop). Even in Texas, my home state, they are about 28 dollars with taxes on a good day. He was saying how inexpensive RYO could be and piqued my interest in the subject. After about 45 minutes of looking around on line I found your site and my eyes were opened. Not just inexpensive (euphemism for cheap) but with no compromise in taste and enjoyment.

Thank you so much for taking the time to produce such a well thought out site. With your well written articles and great information I look forward to becoming a full time RYO'r. I've already bought my first starter kit and my last pack of commercial smokes.

Keep up the great work!

Darin

Perhaps you could help me out. I was searching for information on the history of roll-your-own cigarette machines and came across your impressive website. Could you tell me who invented the machine and in what year? Any historical info. would be much appreciated.

Thank You Margot Diochon

Responding to Margot,

As early as the late 14th Century the Chinese were using bamboo rolling mats to roll vaious substances incluiding tobacco. The actual machines (hand held rollers) to roll with are circa 1940 and the injector types came along soon after that. Few were seen in the US until the 1960's We will do a historical piece in an upcoming issue of RYO Magazine after some much needed additional research.

Hi,

I just wanted to let you know how very much I'm enjoying RYO magazine. I've only recently found it, and I've been reading and re-reading each issue until it's become a virtual obsession!'

I hope you will keep up the wonderful work, and sending along more info on the RYO resurgence -- in addition to being informative and inspirational, it's also a great deal of fun!

I do have one question: In the first and/or second issue you allude to a site where "Slow Burn" can be read and/or downloaded. What is the URL for that? A link to smokersalliance.org simply connects with NSA forums and chats. I didn't see anywhere to go, other than that. I'd appreciate your help, if you can.

Other than that, please accept my hearty congratulations on a truly *wonderful* piece of work!

Sincerely,

Tony

I used to smoke a beautiful rolling tobacco called Balkan Sobrini Turkish yenige. It had a bright gold color and smelled like heaven with a sweet taste. Unfortunately, it is no longer produced. Did you ever try it? Do you know of anything like this and where I can get it?

Thanks,

Jeff

Hi!!

I used to smoke the "three castles" brand of tobacco in the light green tin, and i was wondering if you knew where i could possibly but some more online. it is not carried in stores where i live anymore. thanks,

Bruce

Hello, as the ONLY person I know that rolls his own cigarettes I must say that I was quite pleased to find your wonderful site on the net. Yery informative and the reviews are great fun to read! I used to roll,(I only hand roll spliffs, one end big one end small) Drum way back in the late seventies to early eighties, went on to the convenience of the killer packs of KOOLS, and my mainstay is now Bugler, which I know you don't like but it's really quite satisfying when you get used to it. After spending a few hours at your site I went down to the local Mom n' Pop store and found a 40g. package of Samson and WOW how nice this is! Better than the old Douwe (spelling) Egberts Drum in my opinion. Anyway the reason I wrote in the first place is to tell you that if you go to...

See you on the flipside,

Butch

Just started stuffin my own. Used to smoke Camel filters all the time. Tried a bunch of off the shelf pouches, not real pleased. I did try two tins of a tobacco called " Charles Fairmorn", One was light virginia, which really caught my fancy, and the other was a dark fired blend, which was good, but I found it to be a little heavy or strong. Both were a pleasant change from the Camels. If you have tried Charles Fairmorn Bright Virginia, could you recomend another with similar characteristics. I own a "Supermatic" and can make them just as good as RJ. Really enjoy your articles and reviews,

Thanks, Gene

G'day!

I really enjoy reading your articles online. It's nice to know we're not rolling our own cigarettes alone here in Australia!

I'm on a quest to see if I can source Rizla Green regular papers to order online or at the very least have delivered via postal mail. It's generally easiest for us to buy a box (100 packs) every few months rather than a few packs every week.

Our local smokeshop just did a real number on us and first tried selling us a box at full retail ($55 when they sell the packs for 55cents each). We declined and went in search of other shops that might sell us a box rather than individual packets. To our surprise, our local shop seems to be the only one that even carries Rizla greens.

Today as we went past the shop they called out to us and now offered the same box for $55 but said that it was a $5 discount because the greens are now selling for 60cents each. A week ago the same $55 was full retail - do they really think we're that un-bright ?? (Grumble!)

Anyway, I figured I'd have a look online and see what I could find. I'm not having the best of luck, so thought I'd share my expreience and see if you had any suggestions for possible retailers (or wholesalers for that matter) we could contact.

Thanks for any help you can suggest, and keep the magazine rolling. ;-)

Cheers, Gaelyne

I am interested in finding out if you know what companies supply a hand cranking machine and what is the efficiency of such a product perhaps you have reviewed one in the past I could reference. Thanks in advance for any help you can be.

Bill

I've been handrolling for about 3 months now and absolutely love it. I've found a favorite, Gauloises Halfzware Shag because of it's body, smoothness, and ease of rolling. I do have a bit of a problem. Everytime I buy a pouch it's extremely dry. Would a small cigar humidor work to moisturize it, or do you have any tips?

Thanks.

James

I just wanted to take a second and say thanks for putting together such a great magazine. I had never even *heard* of RYO injection, and after reading pretty much every article of all your back issues, I decided to give it a whirl. I bought a Supermatic II, some McClintock (Green), and some tubes from ryotobacco.com, and was extremely excited when they arrived today.

I've never touched a Supermatic before in my life, but it was extremely straightforward, and aside from a few initial problems (which were a result of putting too LITTLE tobacco in.. guess I had read one too many "Don't use too much!" warnings), it's working great!

I have some suggestions for future articles.. basically, as a newbie to RYO, I have tons of questions (I don't expect you to answer them .. but I figured you could use a newbie's opinion):

General: When do you have to dry tobacco? What's the best way to dry tobacco?

Blending Tobaccos: What's the best way to (physically) do this? Use a big table? How do you measure the relative portions? Weight? Size?

Storing Tobaccos: What is the best way to store tobacco? Does sunlight harm it? What's the shelf life? Should you blend it, then store it, or blend it just prior to using it?

Anyway, thanks for such a great magazine and a wonderful introduction to a rather exciting hobby!

Jeff

This may be a stupid question and maybe an insult to a RYO smokers. I am interested in making my own cigarettes but have no idea if I would like them. I smoke Marlboro Lights can you tell me or send me in the right direction where I can find out which tobacco taste like a Marlboro or something close to it. That way I won't be starting out in something that will put me againest RYO.

Thank You

Glenn

I just read your article on the 100 mm filter tubes. My roommate and I both smoke 120 mm. I would like to be able to buy the 120 size and also a cigarette machine to go with it so I can make my own cigarettes. I am just giving you this information in case there are any manufacturers out there that would like to know there may be a market for the above.

Thank you very much. I really enjoy your site.

Cindy Swahlen

Hi, how to order by the mail in your site.

HI Guys Is it possible to provide me with contact details of the supplier of the MAIKER cigarette tubes, I would like to try them out. GREAT magazine!

Thanks

Kevin

Hello Doug,and Everyone at "RYO" Mag.

I have been reading your mag for awhile now,and i truly enjoy each issue.I'm a Avid "MYO" Smoker.I purchase a lot of my tobacco's and acessories from Mr.Ryan at D&R Tobacco in Smithfield.Also i buy some tobacco's at shop's near by home.

The Tobacco shops around here do not have much to offer.I go to these shops for certain product's such as follows,Bali Red which i rate very high 8.9 of 10 cost is $2.85 for 40 grams.Zig-Zag mild halfzware i rate at 8 cost is $1.59 for 40 grams.I have tried Jester,Arbo and Sampson tobaccos and i was not impressed with these and these were purchased locally also around $3.00 for 40 G's.At this time i'm giving Long full flavor a try,so far i give it a 8,it has a Marlboro/Winston taste to me.The cost was $7.50 for a 7 oz.Tin.

The only Filter tube's available locally are Zig-Zag,which i rate at 8.6 at a cost of $3.00 for 200 ct.I found a box of Bugler 100 ct.tubes one time and i rate them at 8.9 cost was $3.00,which as was stated in "RYO" is too much...

Back to D&R my favorite online Dealer,by far.I have tried all of Mr.Ryan's tobacco's they all are of high quality,but like anyone else i have my favorites.Ameriflavor- Rate at "9"- U.S. Blend = "9.2" Old Timers Blend = 8.1 American Gold = 8.6 U.S. Menthol (I'm not a Menthol Fan) so i will not rate..Dutch Blend = 8.7 Tubes Full Flavor from D&R Gizeh = "9.2" this one is my personal favorite...Windsail = "9" my 2nd choice (Mr.Ryan sent me a box to sample before it hit the market,i was very pleased and i informed him that i was) Gizeh Charbon is in a class by it's self" i like this tube from time to time,i rate it a firm "9".

Injector's Supermatic 2 = "9.5" Zig-Zag Handheld = 8 Excel Handheld = 8.. Rollbox Gizeh = 9 Gizeh Giro plastic Roller = 8.7 Gizeh Steel Roller = 9.2

Note: I tried the McClintock Green Tin as reveiwed by "RYO" before it was gone and i loved it = a firm 9 Bugler Tob. = 6 Top = 6

Papers Rayo Rice = 9 Rayo Reg. = 8.8 Rayo Hemp = 8.9 Zig-Zag Reg. = 8.6 Chills Americana Hemp = 8.2 Escort Aquafuge = 8.4 (Too Thick)

Most Complimentry papers rate between 7.8 - 8.5

This is my Review,i will continue too read your Wonderful Magazine,keep up the Great Work!If you ever would like to send me any Samples to try,feel free too do so.I will give you Honest Feedback..

Best Regard's, Alan

Hello,

I want to thank you for your excellent e-zine. I look forward to every issue. The product reviews are very informative. It is easy to tell that a lot of work has gone into every issue. Keep up the good work!!

The questions that I have are basically about where products are available. You speak very highly of Lane Ltd's Oriental blend and state that is available at Cascade, is it their "Turkish Blend"? If not I do not see it listed on the tobacco page. Do you know of anywhere that is selling the new Premier Supermatic? I can just wait for it to filter down to the retailers that I know. My last question is does CTC have a website?

Here are a couple of requests. How about a review of Excel non-filtered tubes? I currently cut the filter off of regular tubes since I cannot buy the Excel tubes locally. Also an article on the care and upkeep of the Supermatics or injectors in general would be great.

Again thank you for putting out a wonderful magazine.

Sincerely,

Mark Hogan

I have recently become a roll-your-own enthusiast and I compliment you on your wonderful on-line magazine. I have two questions: 1) What, if anything, is going on in Congress to tax bulk tobacco, tubes, etc., and 2) Is there a tobacco that you could suggest that is similar in flavor to Camel (Filter Kings).

Thank you.
Gene

		"The biggest threat to Democracy is an uninformed, disinterested citizenry"