INTRODUCTION
Tobacco is a green, leafy plant that is grown in warm climates. After it is picked, it is dried, ground up, and used in different ways. It can be smoked in a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. It can be chewed (called smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco) or sniffed through the nose (called snuff). Nicotine is one of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and its smoke. It is the chemical that makes tobacco addictive or habit forming. Once we smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco, nicotine goes into our bloodstream, and our body wants more. The nicotine in tobacco makes it a drug. This means that when we use tobacco, it changes our body in some way. Because nicotine is a stimulant, it speeds up the nervous system, so we feel like we have more energy. It also makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure.
Varieties of Tobacco
• Flue-Cured: - Harrison special, Chatham, Delcrest, Virginia gold, Kanakaprabha, Whit gold, Dhanadayi
• Bidi: -Keliu-49, Keliu-20, Surati-20, Anand-2, Anand-3, Anand-23, Anand-119, Kunkumathiri
• Natu: -D.G.3, D.G.4, D.R.1
• Cigar filler: -OL-10, VV-2, KV-1, I-462
• Cherrot: - OK-1, 1-737
• Chewing: -I-64, PV-7, WR-2, I-115, VTK-1, VD-1, S-1, P- 4, S-57, Anand-145
• Hookah and chewing: -N.P.70, N.P.35, D.P.401, D.D.413, N.P.18, N.P.20
• Wrapper: -Dixie shade
• Burley: -KY-16, Ky-58
Types of Tobacco
Anand area of Gujarat grows wholly bidi tobacco. Nipam area of Karnataka grows bidi tobacco North Bihar and Bengal area has both tabacum and rustica types used in the manufacture of hookah and to a limited extent chewing and snuff types Madurai and Coimbatore area of Tamil Nadu grow cigar, filter binder and chewing tobaccos.
TOBACCO CULTIVATION
In the first stage of the growing process, tobacco seeds are sown in specially constructed seedbeds. At the same time, farmers carefully prepare the soil in their fields. After two months in the beds, the seeds have grown into plants approximately 15-20 centimeters high and are ready to be transplanted to the field. The plants grow in the field for a further two to three months. Throughout the growing process, the plants are cultivated to maximize yield and quality, the soil is tended regularly, and care is taken to protect the plants from pests and disease. Harvesting is the next stage of the process. Harvesting is either done leaf by leaf in the case of Virginia and oriental tobaccos, or by the whole plant, in the case of burley. Harvesting has to take place when the leaves are mature (or ripe) and in prime condition for the next stage, the curing process. Curing plays a major role in contributing to the final leaf quality. Different ways of curing are used for different types of tobacco: air-curing for burley, flue-curing for Virginia, and sun-curing for oriental. Once the leaves are cured, the farmer sorts them according to their quality and stalk position. The leaves are then packed into bales ready to be shipped. Tobacco bales are moved to a buying station where they are assessed and subsequently purchased by leaf buyers.
Crop Cultivation
In the first stage of the growing process, tobacco seeds are sown in specially-constructed seedbeds. Selecting the right tobacco seed variety is essential to achieving a good yield of the desired quality of tobacco leaf. The seeds are sown in Tobacco Cultivation 23 seedbeds (not too close together) to give each seedling enough room to grow. Tobacco seeds are tiny – there are between 10,000 and 13,000 of them in a gram – and they germinate rapidly in five to ten days. Under the ideal seedbed conditions, they will grow to a height of 15-20 centimeters in about two months. They are then transplanted in the fields.
Tobacco Growing
Tobacco production in the EU can be subdivided in four main variety groups; Virginia, Burley, Dark (Dark air-cured and Fire-cured) and Oriental. Virginia varieties represent about 46% of the EU production, Burley 21% and the others together about 33%. The EU counts about 86,000 tobacco farmers. Bulgarian farmers represent 50% of them, followed by Poland and Greece (both 17%). The tobacco production is often limited to small regions carried out by family businesses. The average area (1.6 ha per farmer) differs considerably according to the varieties grown, with Burley and Oriental varieties requiring more labour force than Virginia varieties. As a consequence, 81% of EU tobacco farmers are involved in Burley or Oriental growing, while 15% grow Virginia varieties. According to tobacco producers, certain ingredients, including sugar, are indispensable for the use of certain tobacco varieties (Burley and Oriental). This is because these varieties lose their sugar content during the drying process whereas other varieties, such as Virginia, keep it.
BIDI
Bidis (pronounced bee-dees and also known as beedis) are small hand-rolled cigarettes made of tobacco and wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf (plants that are native to Asia — Diospyros melanxylon). They are manufactured in India and other Southeast Asian countries and exported to more than 100 countries. In India, bidi cigarettes are cheaper and more heavily consumed than traditional commercial cigarettes. It is a common misconception that because they’re less expensive, they’re also less harmful. Bidis are thin, hand rolled cigarettes that are made mostly in India and other Southeast Asian countries. The tobacco is wrapped in a tendu or temburni leaf, and tied with a colorful string. They come in flavors like chocolate, cherry or mango or may be unflavored. They have a higher amount of nicotine and tar and produce more carbon monoxide than traditional cigarettes.
Bidi factory has been started in 19th century in India. It has been in Solapur since 150 years. 50 to 60 % economic condition of Solapur is depended on bidi factory. The factories of bidi are mostly depended on Female bidi workers. Actually, it is 80 lakh bidi workers in all over the India. Bidi factory has been started in other states of India such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
The ancient history of Solapur, before 10th century was shrouded in darkness. Solapur as a small village passed through a number of regimes like those of Satvahana, etc., which had obtained power to rule in some part of present Maharashtra since 90 B.C. It was under the later Chalukyas and the Yadavas in the 11th and 12th centuries, that Solapur began to flourish as a religious centre. The persons responsible for making Solapur as a religious centre were Revansidha and Siddharama. It is found that the Yadavas left several vestiges of their rule in Solapur district among which are a few Hemadpanthi temples including a temple in the Solapur fort. An inscription at Sangur (Havery Taluka, Dist Dharwad) of Yadava Maharashtra Devraja visited Sonnakugenagarao which had been formerly the Sidheshwara Lake were built many year before the fort was built.
Characteristics of the Bidi Industry
1. There are about 300 manufacturers of major bidi brands and thousands of small scale contractors and manufacturers involved in bulk production in India.
2. The industry employs approximately 4.4 million full time workers and an additional 4 million in bidi industry related jobs. Most of them are largely poor and illiterate.
3. The lack of organized production in the bidi industry creates difficulty in regulating the working conditions of workers and in implementing welfare laws.
4. In 1999, the Indian bidi industry generated 165 million in excise and 200 million in foreign exchange revenue for the Indian government.
ZARDA
Tobacco is an important commercial crop cultivated in an area of 0.4 million ha producing annually around 700 million kg of cured leaf out of which 260 M kg is Flue-Cured Virginia tobacco (cigarette type). India is the 3rd largest producer of tobacco in the world after China and Brazil. Majority of the states in the Indian union territory grow one type or the other to a greater or lesser extent, significantly influencing the economy and prosperity of the farming community. Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV), Bidi, Hookah and Chewing, Cigar filler, Cigar Wrapper, Cheroot, Burley, Oriental, HDBRG, Lanka etc., are the different types of tobacco grown in the country. Tobacco is consumed in the form of cigarettes, cigars, cheroots, bidis, pipe and hookah. It is chewed in the form of Surti, Zarda, Qiwamquid, Masheri, Kharamasala. Also, tobacco is inhaled in the form of snuff. The crop provides employment to about 36 million people directly or indirectly including 6 million farmers in the country. India ranks 5th largest exporter of tobacco in the world after Brazil, USA, Malawi and Turkey.
Zarda is a mixture of tobacco, lime, spices, and occasionally, silver flakes is also added to pan and chewed. Zarda is prepared by cutting tobacco leaves into small pieces and boiling them in water with slaked lime and spices until the water evaporates. It is then dried, and colouring and flavouring agents are added. Zarda may be chewed by itself, with areca nut or in betel quid quid. It is available in small packets or tins.
Manufacturing Process of Zarda
Basic Raw Materials Required
1) Tobacco leaves
2) Lime
3) Peppermint
4) Cardamom
5) Cinnamon
6) Vegetable Dyes
7) Flavours
8) Preservatives
Formulation
1) Tobacco leaves - 60%
2) Lime - 15%
3) Peppermint - 7%
4) Cardamom - 5%
5) Cinnamon - 5%
6) Vegetable Dye - 6%
7) Flavours - 1%
8) Preservatives - 1%
Process
Tobacco leaves should be bright lemon or light orange colour with fine texture and body should be free from sponginess, scalding, brushing or other bluish. Leaves should be dried in a Tray Dryer by maintaining temperature 80°C – 90°C by hot air such that leaves contains less than 6% moisture. Now take the above mentioned ingredients by weight. Dry tobacco leaves are kept in the horizontal mixing tank. Add lime powder over the dry leaves and mix the product for 20- 30 minutes and then add glycerol and kimam (It is a mixture of masala spices) over the mixer. Mix the mixture for 20 minutes. After proper mixing, the products are taken in the holding tanks. Now add perfume & silver flakes over it. Check the quality of the Zarda. Pack the product in the printed pouches/tin containers with the help of automatic packing machine. Now Zarda Ratna 300 type is ready for marketing.
Quality Control
Quality control, both in respect of detail product information, proper warning levels is needed. Government should initiate a sustainable system which looks into these issues. Many tobacco (processed) products does not carry proper information in SEA countries. There is dire need of establishment of proper testing laboratory in the region.
MOUTH FRESHENERS
Nutritive and palatable mouth freshners were prepared from dehydrated aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) pulp of ‘Desi’and ‘Banarsi’ cultivars by mixing carboxymethyl cellulose, gums, arecanut, cardamom, sugar and milk powder at different proportions as a substitute for panmasala, tobacco and gutka. Mouth fresheners developed were packed in high density polyethylene pouches (HDPE,100 gauge), stored at ambient conditions (8–20°C, 60% RH) and analysed for physico-chemical and sensory quality attributes at different storage intervals. During storage for 6 months, ascorbic acid and overall acceptability of mouth freshener decreased (p 0.05) and moisture content in-creased. The equivalent relative humidity of mouth freshener was 49% and 53% in ‘Desi’ and ‘Banarsi’ cultivars, respectively. Despite the changes observed in various physico- chemical and sensory attributes, the overall sensory quality attributes of mouth freshners remained acceptable.
Uses and Applications
1. It is used to refresh the mouth.
2. It freshens up mouth and breathes with its flavour.
3. It is chewed by all age group people.
4. It is served to guests after lunch and dinner to keep mouth fresh.
5. It helps in digestion of food after meals
6. It is served in marriages, parties or any other special occasions.
7. It is a direct substitute of pan, pan masala etc.
8. Widely used in religious and social functions.
9. Strengthens gums and teeth.
10. It is beneficial in worm infestation. It kills intestinal parasites such as tapeworms, pinworms and round worms when one teaspoon of powdered areca nut is swallowed with water or drunk as decoction.
11. It is used as tooth whitener. Powdered kernel is rubbed on teeth and also useful in treating dental caries. It is also a constituent in some tooth powders.
12. It is used in sprains, bruises and contusions. Leaves of areca plant are crughed and mixed with coconut and then warmed and applied on the affected area.
As described above that Supari or Tobacco chewing is increasing bitterly in India & every part of world it’s chewing is prevailed. In any way, as pan chewing, the pan (a leaf of betel nut + lime + Katha+ sweet Spices + Supari) offered in many occasions to serve the guest at homes or at the time of wedding.
It is also an item of daily use of some people whether they are rich or poor due to their habit.
NICOTINE SULPHATE
Nicotine is a potent chemical that excites the central nervous system and refreshes people. It is also physically addictive and causes dependence. Nicotine Sulfate is a white, sand-like solid. It is used as an insecticide, fumigant and medication for animals. A very poisonous alkaloid that in its pure state is a colorless, pungent, oily liquid, having an acrid burning taste. It is a constituent of tobacco, and is also produced synthetically. It is administered orally, intranasally, or by inhalation as an aid to smoking cessation. In water solution, it is sometimes used as an insecticide and plant spray. Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) that acts as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist. The biosynthesistakes place in the roots and accumulation occurs in the leaves of the Solanaceae. It constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco and is present in the range of 2–7 ¼g/kg of various edible plants. It functions as an antiherbivore chemical; therefore, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past and nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid are currently widely used.
Manufacturing Process
Tobacco dust/ Tobacco Rava and lime are mixed together (using 10% lime) with the help ofthe mixing machine and packed into barrels specially made for percolation purpose. Water isadded into the barrel from the top and the water is allowed to percolate through the dust.The water dissolves all the Nicotine present in the dust and it gets collected into a sump (Broth). This Nicotinised water (Broth) is then subjected to liquid - liquid extraction using kerosene assolvent. Nicotine being more soluble in kerosene is taken up by kerosene & the Nicotinisedkerosene is then transferred into reactors for acidification with calculated amount of dilutesulfuric acid thereby forming Nicotine Sulfate – 40%. The Nicotine Sulfate- 40% is further purified by passing it through super centrifuge & then packed.
HOOKAH
A hookah is a water pipe that is used to smoke flavored and sweetened tobacco. Other names for hookah are narghile, argileh, shisha, hubble-bubble, shisha and goza. The pipe is usually quite large with one or more flexible tubing stems that allow multiple smokers to inhale at the same time. Hookah tobacco is often flavored with molasses, fruit pulp, or honey with additional flavor added, like coconut, fruit flavors, mint, or coffee. Flavorings sweeten the taste and aroma of the tobacco, making it more appealing to young people, especially. Hookah pipes have been in use for about 400 years, originating in India and Asia. In the early 1600s, Hakim Abdul Fath, a physician from India invented the hookah, believing the health hazards of tobacco smoke would be minimized by passing it through water before inhalation. He was wrong. More on that in a bit. In the 1990s, flavored tobacco became popular in the Eastern Mediterranean countries, and hookah use grew out of that, spreading around the world. The tobacco chamber in a hookah consists of a bowl containing burning charcoal that is placed on top of the flavored tobacco. Charcoal is separated from tobacco by perforated aluminum foil. As the charcoal heats the tobacco below, smoke is created. When users draw on the stem of the hookah, the smoke is pulled through the water chamber, cooling it before being inhaled into the lungs.
How Hookah Tobacco is manufactured
Apart from the quality and design of the pipe itself, one of the keys to a satisfying hookah experience is the quality and flavor of the tobacco. Contrary to popular belief, most hookah smokers are merely smoking tobacco, although at one time opium and hashish were commonly smoked. Hookah tobacco is smoked for flavor rather than effect and most smokers find it relaxing and satisfying. Hookah tobacco is different from the tobacco used in cigarettes or cigars, most hookah tobacco is traditionally blended from fresh tobacco leaves along with various additives such as honey, molasses or fruit pulp. This mixture is known as maassel or tobamel. Rose oil or the juice from pomegranates has also occasionally been added to the mixture, which added more flavor to the smoke. During the 1980s, Egyptian hookah tobacconists started adding all sorts of flavors to their tobacco, fruits and spices in particular. The result is a strongly flavored tobacco sometimes called shisha. More recently, many hookah tobacco manufacturers have also started adding glycerin because of its sweetening ability and ability to keep the tobacco moist. Because it is so wet, shisha tobacco must be smoked using hookah charcoal. And hookah tobacco may be healthier for you than cigarette tobacco, most hookah tobacco is manufactured with no tar and contains just traces of nicotine. Because the tobacco is heated instead of burned, research shows that the level of carcinogens produced by hookah smoking is significantly lower.
What’s a Smoking Pipe? How does a Pipe Work?
Pipes are the simplest devices used to smoke legal buds, herbal smoke, marijuana etc., For the most part they are similar to pipes Smoking Pipe used to smoke tobacco but marijuana pipes should be made of heat resistant materials such as stone, ivory, metal, glass, and occasionally harder woods. Smoking Mixture used does not tend to stay lit in pipe so flame constantly has to be applied to bowl which heats it up more than pipes with tobacco in them typically are heated. Smoking Pipe: A common variant of pipe is the stash pipe, a pipe where one may store a small amount of herb. Some stash pipes are constructed in such a manner that the smoke passes through the stash area so that the herb mixture inside is bathed in the smoke and acquires a coating of resin which makes it more potent when it is turn is smoked. Smoking Pipe: There are glass hash pipes which are used to smoke hashish and hashish oil, the materiel is placed in the bowl as with other pipes but instead of heat being applied to the top of the substance it is applied to the bottom of the pipe. Smoking from a pipe can be very hard on the lungs. If you use a pipe and have a persistent cough, try smoking marijuana in a joint, water pipe, or with a vaporizer.
PACKAGING & LABELING (Design Trends & Technologies)
In market place today a “good package design” must differentiate from the masses on the retail shelf, stimulate sales volume of flat or mature product growth categories and leave the consumer with a positive “use” experience. It has been said that “the package is the silent salesperson” sitting next to the competition and it must not only get the busy consumers attention, but shout “buy me”. To be successful in the market today you must not only achieve this sort of reaction with your package design, but the package must also function well and provide a positive, memorable experience for the consumer.
Flexible Packaging is the new package format offering many of these benefits and many more. Financial benefits to the packager also include opportunities of material cost reduction as compared to some other more traditional methods, particularly in regards to rigid packaging. The logistically advantage of flexible packaging is also beginning to get attention as the cost of transportation has had a dramatic impact on total per package cost due to raising fuel charges, particularly when compared to more traditional methods of packaging including bottles, can, jars, composite or spiral cans.
RECLOSABILITY
Freshness of the product, as well as improved dispensing of the product may be enhanced after opening with the addition of a “press to close” zipper, “slider” zipper or spout. The ability to add convenience and functionality to the pouch or bag style package is having a dramatic impact on flexible packaging design today. Consumer’s appreciate the convenience and are exhibiting this appreciation through repeat sales and increased brand loyalty. Many new and improved recloseability features are continuing to add to a multitude of “design possibilities”.
FLEXIBLE PACKAGING SHAPES
The technology to create “shape” into a flexible package design through the utilization of die cutting can now add character, personality and improved functionality to the package. Die-cutting may be done at converting level through the supply of pre-made pouches or performed on - line as an integral part of the form, fill and seal process. Package shape in conjunction with the use of colorful graphics, custom designed barrier properties and presented in a myriad of sizes all add to the creative possibilities.
Food Supply and the Protective Role of Packaging
Packaging for consumer products is an area where supply and demand is continuously changing due to the development of an international food market and adaptation to consumer, distribution, legal and technological requirements. Broad external influences on packaging for fast-moving consumer products may be summarised as follows:
• technological
• political/legal
• socio-cultural
• demographic
• ecological
• raw material availability
• economic.
PACKAGING LAWS AND REGULATIONS
The Packaging Laws and Regulations for food products are mainly covered under:
• The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 (SWMA).
• The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 and its first ammendment, 2003 (PFA).
• The Fruit Products Order, 1955 (FPO)
• The Meat Food Products Order, 1973 (MFPO)
• The Edible Oil Packaging Order, 1998
• The Agmark Rules
The Act also specifies the base units for:
• Length – Metre
• Mass – Kilogram
• Time – Second
• Electric Current – Ampere
• Thermodynamic Temperature – Kelvin
• Luminous Intensity – Candela
• Base Unit of Numeration – International form of Indian numerals
Further Requirements Include
• Every package should bear the name of the manufacturer and also of the packer or distributor.
• The statement as to the net weight, measurement or number of the contents should not have any expressions, which tend to qualify such weight, measurement or number. (Exceptions to this are commodities which may undergo changes in weight or measure due to climatic variations; examples – bread, soap, etc. where the qualifying statement “when packed” may be added to the net weight or measure).
• Where there is undue proliferation of weight, measure or number in which any commodity is being sold and such undue proliferation impairs, in the opinion of the Government, the reasonable ability of the consumers to make a comparative assessment of the prices after considering the net quantity or number of such commodity, the Government may prescribe standard quantities or numbers for any commodity.
Where the retail price of a commodity is stated in any advertisement, the net quantity or number of the commodity must be conspicuously declared in the advertisement along with the price.
• A package containing a commodity, which is filled less than the prescribed capacity of such package cannot be sold or distributed except where it is proved that the package is so filled with a view to (a) giving protection to the contents of the package or (b) meeting the requirements of machines used for enclosing the contents of such packages
• The Central Government may, by rules, specify reasonable variations in the net contents of the commodity in a package as may be caused by the method of packing or the ordinary exposure which may be undergone by the commodity after it has been introduced in the market place. This very comprehensive and farreaching Act has put an end to the state of near anarchy in the trading of packaged goods. The clearly specified requirements in the Act have also provided a challenge to packaging development experts and label copy specialists who have to include statutory and promotional copy in the limited space available on labels and on packages themselves. However irksome they may appear, the provisions of this Act are welcome because they offer to the consumer a measure of protection which is not so apparent in many other legal requirements.
