Premier Filtered Cigarette Tubes, RYO Magazine, The Magazine of Roll Your Own Cigarettes, Reviews, the Premier filter tube, filtered cigarettes

My discovery, a few years ago, of filtered cigarette tubes was a major factor in my decision to make a complete switch from pre-packaged brands to roll your own cigarettes. I have always preferred filtered cigarettes and find even high quality tobacco, hand or machine rolled, into thinner sticks to achieve a bit more mildness still have a certain bite to them that I do not care for.

Premier Filter Tube by CTC The Premier King-Size Regular filtered tube is one of our very favorites. Manufactured by CTC - Clinton Tube Company of Plattsburg, New York (same company that makes the Supermatic Injection Machines), this brown-tipped tube is very well made, very consistent in draw, and provides a mild, flavorful smoke. Not as mild to be sure as the *Escort Filtered Light Tube that we reviewed last month (*See our Archives section under January/February), but with certain tobaccos, this regular strength tube is all the filter you need to enjoy a mild smooth smoke. The filter part of this tube is shorter than the Light Escort and the actual tobacco chamber is a bit smaller also. Even so, when rolled (injected), you have a full king-size cigarette, that looks every bit as nice as any manufactured brand.

Recently, we're told CTC has raised the wholesale prices of its tubes, so you can expect the street price to fluctuate accordingly, but with average prices of between $2.00/box (quantity price 25-50 boxes) and up to $5.00 per single box of 200 tubes, you are still going to enjoy substantial savings over manufactured brands, and have a far better quality smoke (depending, of course on the grade of tobacco with which you choose to fill it.)

Obviously there is more to filter technology than is advertised or immediately apparent. When we evaluate a filter, we look for taste first and then for smoking comfort or mildness. While we have noticed little difference in wide comparisons between light and regular filter tubes as far a smoke temperature is concerned, we have found that the Comparing Premier Regular and Escort Light Filter Tubes few ultra light filtered tubes available begin to produce that heat related harshness and dryness. The amount of effect that the nicotine in your favorite tobacco has on you (buzzing or slight dizziness) is, for the most part, directly related to how efficient the filter is. In other words, light filters will reduce the effect more than regular filters. That does not mean that the light filter will offer less taste. On the other hand, a light filter can sometimes produce a hotter, drier smoke and if your tobacco is not strong in its effect on you, you may enjoy the taste of a regular filter more. Also it is reported, and there is some logic to the argument, that people who smoke lighter filtered cigarettes smoke more. So though you are getting less nicotine per cigarette your overall intake is the same or increased. This is a personal decision you have to make and if you are in control of your habit, as we suggest throughout this magazine, or have progressed from habit to free choice, your ultimate preference as to filtering (or not filtering at all) of an occasional cigarette probably has more to do with taste and smoking comfort than nicotine intake.

Next time we will take a look at some of the other brands of Filtered Tubes, some from Europe, that, while a little more expensive, claim a higher level of manufacturing and filtering quality. Join us then to see what we find. - RYO

EDITOR'S NOTE: These reviews are solely for the convenience of people of legal age who already smoke, are trying to cut down on smoking, wish to spend less money on their smoking, want to roll their own cigarettes from high quality tobacco, and, in general, wish to have a far more satisfying, and economical smoking experience when compared with smoking pre-manufactured cigarettes. We, in no way, encourage people to smoke. Further, we prescribe to a sane, more logical approach to smoking that involves common sense as to quantity coupled with a strong desire to manage the habit until it becomes an occasional, freely chosen, diversion, that can be fully enjoyed with minimal health risks. Finally, we strongly encourage those who do smoke to take it outdoors, or to appropriate environments where tobacco can be enjoyed away from those who do not smoke, most especially children. We do not sell tobacco or related products from this site; We distribute information about our perceptions of the quality of what is available and where it can be obtained. If you are under 18, it is illegal to buy tobacco and you should immediately exit this site. If you do not smoke, it would seem illogical to start.