Rizla
RizLa+ (known commonly as "Rizla") is a brand of papers in which tobacco or marijuana is rolled to form cigarettes or joints, respectively.
Rizla rolling papers are available in a range of thicknesses and sizes, indicated by the colour of the packaging. Rizla is the world's number one selling brand of rolling papers and is available in over 120 countries worldwide.
Rizla history
The myth of creation
The Rizla tradition has a humble beginning that started in 1532, when a Frenchman named Pierre de Lacroix began making paper. As the legend goes, one rainy day in the French city of Angoulême, Pierre de Lacroix was inspired to begin the production of rolling papers when he traded a rolling paper for a bottle of fine champagne and realized their potential market.
The company breaks out
In 1660, the Lacroix family began serious production of rolling papers, having found them to be highly profitable. Despite the early success, it was not until nearly 76 years later in 1736 that the family acquired their own paper-mill, purchased by Francois Lacroix, who founded the Lacroix Rolling Paper company the same year.
However, it was not until 1796 that the Lacroix brand got its first major production deal, during the Napoleonic wars, when Napoleon himself granted the company a licence to produce fine rolling papers for his soldiers who until then had been forced to roll cigarettes using paper torn from the pages of various books.
In 1860, Pierre Lacroix perfected the formula for the Lacroix brand of rolling papers. In 1865, another change was made to the formula - the tissue previously used in the papers was replaced with paper made from rice. It is this change to rice paper that caused the name "RizLa+" to finally emerge: a combination of the French word Riz (meaning rice) with "La" and a cross, representing the Lacroix family name, which literally means "The Cross". The Lacroix family changed the brand name in 1866.
The RizLa+ company was so successful, that by 1891 the Lacroix family had amassed enough wealth to construct a castle-like manor, which they dubbed Chateau Leonide Lacroix. The Lacroix family were selling their product throughout Europe and the United States by 1900.
The Rizla brand in the 20th century and beyond
RizLa produced some of the first flavoured papers in 1906, with the release of menthol and strawberry. The first Rizla Blue fine-weight rolling papers were produced in 1910, with thinner paper and a more pronounced tobacco flavour. RizLa also released one of the first rolling machines. The basic design of their original rolling machine is still used to this day. Recently, however, Rizla changed the design of their machine.
In 1942, the RizLa brand revolutionized the world of rolling papers when the Lacroix brothers acquired a patent for applying gum to the edge of rolling papers. This new feature solidified Rizla's position as a leader in the rolling paper industry, placing them at the top of the market.
During 1944, RizLa changed its name yet again to the name "Rizla+", which is still in use today.
In 1948, Rizla acquired the General Paper and Box Manufacturing Company, located in South Wales, dramatically improving their production capabilities. The same year, Rizla released the Rizla Green cut-corners, medium-weight rolling paper.
Sometime in 1977, thirty-three years after the brand name change, Rizla released the first of their King Size rolling papers.
In 1978 Fernand Painblanc took control of Rizla, bringing the tradition of Lacroix family ownership to an end.
The licorice-flavoured paper was released in 1981. In 1986, Rizla began rapid growth and large-scale advertising. One successful advertising campaign in 1986 was a popular series of calendars and posters. A café franchise, which was featured at various concerts in the UK in 1996, was also extremely popular. In 1997 they produced a limited edition King Size Rizla+ Purple medium-weight, extra width, king size rolling paper, in celebration of the Phoenix music festival.
In 1997 Rizla was sold to Imperial Tobacco.
1998, Rizla continued their string of expansion and large-scale advertising, going so far as to release their own line of clothing, sold at their cafés. In 2002 Rizla closed a deal with Suzuki and became one of their top motor-bike racing sponsors, forming the Rizla-Suzuki racing team. The Caterham Superlight R500 sports is available with Rizla markings following its launch in collaboration with Rizla-Suzuki.
Rizla added a new paper to its line up in 2003, with the introduction of the Rizla Silver, Ultra-Thin, King Size rolling paper. In 2003 the UK Advertising Standards Agency upheld a complaint that Rizla had alluded to their products' association with cannabis in a print advertisement that bore the caption "twist and burn". The association being that 'twist' alludes to twisting the paper on the end of a joint to stop the tobacco and marijuana mix falling out, and 'burn' the process of lighting and smoking a joint.
In 2004, two more types or Rizla papers were released; one, the Rizla Red, Medium Weight, Slim paper is exclusive to the United Kingdom. The other variety released in 2004 was the Rizla Silver (regular size) Ultra-Thin rolling paper.
In September 2005 Imperial Tobacco announced the closure of Rizla's Treforest factory at Pontypridd near Cardiff in South Wales with a loss of 134 jobs. After the closure of the factory, Rizla production is now concentrated at Wilrijk, Belgium.
Since 2006, Rizla also sponsors the Suzuki MotoGP bike under Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team, currently ridden by Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen.
Rizla types
Rizla+ rolling papers come in a variety of sizes, colours and types. Inside the last rolling paper of each packet is green cardboard, the size of the Rizla in the pack, and about 1mm thick.
Regular size papers
Regular size papers are 70 mm long.
Green Regular
Corners cut, glue strip, medium size
Green Smooth
A Medium weight paper with cut corners but has over 2000 holes in the paper. This gives the cigarette a smoother toke
Blue Regular
Glue strip, medium size, thin, its corners are not cut.
Silver Regular
Very thin, uncut corners, light weight
White Regular
Chlorine free paper which comes in medium weight and cut corners.
Red Regular
Red Regular is a medium weight paper, its corners are not cut.
King Size papers
Rizla King Size papers are 10 cm in length and significantly wider than the regular size. King Size papers come in two varieties, King Size and King Size Slim, which are not as wide as the normal King Size papers, but are slightly longer than the standard King Size papers.
King Size Light Blue Slims
Rizla King Size Light Blue Slim rolling papers are 10cm in length, the same length as a normal blue king size paper, but notably thinner.
King Size Dark Blue
King Size Regular Papers of the same thickness as King Size Blue Slims except that they don't have any glue.
Other rolling related products
Rizla also provides filter tubes in a variety of sizes, rolling machines (called a Rizla+ 'concept') and rolling boxes
External links
- http://www.rizla.co.uk/
- http://www.rizla.com/
- http://www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk/
- http://www.rollingpapers.net/RizlaBlue/Rizblue.htm Collector's site for Rizla Rolling papers