Rolling paper
Rolling papers are small sheets, rolls or leaves of paper which are sold for rolling one's own cigarettes either by hand or with a rolling machine. When rolling a cigarette, one fills the rolling paper with tobacco, shag, marijuana or other herbs. They are most commonly made with hemp, flax or rice as a base material. The basic design of a single paper is a long rectangle with a narrow strip of glue or gum all along one of the long edges. Longer, rice-based rolling papers are also often used to make spliffs or used by connoisseurs for the finest possible cigarette. Rolling papers are also called skins or rollys, but the term skinning up refers solely to the act of rolling a spliff. Newer rolling papers are available in various flavors. This is said to enhance the smoking experience. The latest rolling papers are unbleached with a translucent brown color. These unbleached papers provide a more natural smoking experience similar to using a natural tobacco. Rolling papers have experienced a resurgence of popularity because in many countries it is less expensive to roll your own cigarette then it is to purchase a machine-made cigarette, since imposing sin taxes on products found morally offensive is popular among first world countries. In addition people who roll their own cigarettes can customize the cigarette to any shape, size and fomat they choose. This allows the smoker to have a deeper bond with their cigarette as it is custom tailored to their specific tastes.
Popular brands of rolling papers include:
- Bambu
- Bugler
- Cyclones
- Elements
- Ez-Wider
- JOB
- Juicy Jays
- Kulu
- Mascotte
- OCB
- Pure Hemp
- Rizla
- RAW (unbleached vegan rolling paper)
- Rollies
- Smoking
- Zig-Zag
- ZEN
Rolling papers are also used by players of wind instruments, particularly flutes, to remove moisture that accumulates in keypads, making the keys stick.
There are many collectors of cigarette rolling papers, especially in Europe. One of the largest online collections is at Rollingpapers.net.
Some people cut, rip or bite the corners of the non-sticky side off, which apparently makes it easier to roll by hand.