"Are Free? - Especially if you are a non-profit, tax exempt organization"

   Also in this issue we take a look at some extraordinarily fine rolling papers from Republic Tobacco as well as what may be the most important new product system to come along since the inception of tube injection cigarette making by Laredo. It is a vending machine that carries the name LaCigaretterie and it just may change the way smokers of all ilk view making their own cigarettes. And, on our Tobacco review page, we take a look at Cheap Tobacco, defined good quality smoking tobacco at less than $20 per pound. We have had several thousand requests to do such a survey and so this time we respond including links to the companies where you can find these incredible bargains, with prices that will allow the smoker to roll/stuff their own with great tobacco for as little as $6.75 per carton including tubes.

serve as what we hope to be the definitive Holiday Buyer's Guide (It is here now and can be accessed by clicking on the flashing link above. A new window will open which you can close at any time when you are finished exploring the many creative gifts available for the smoking enthusiast) for the smoking enthusiast on your gift list. There are literally hundreds of unusual and practical gift items in the world of RYO and it is our intent to bring them to your attention. For instance, did you know that many people still smoke cigarette tobacco in pipes? And not just any pipes. Certain pipes are far better suited to the smoking and inhaling of tobacco smoke. Usually a wide, fat, shallow bowl works best with a relatively short wide stem. We have found just such pipes (see photos above and at left) and have tested them and believe us when we tell you that for the short smoke, you know, when you don't have time or the desire for a whole cigarette, these little guys work great. Our thanks to the H.J. Bailey Company and Carey's Smoke Shop for the samples. You can click on the photos to visit these fine folks.

   Other useful items such as cigarette holders and filters for them, unusual lighters, papers, cigarette making kits, ashtrays, and too many other things to mention here will all be part of the Buyer's Guide along with prices and the locations where you can find them. Should be handy for those who wait until almost the last minute (like me) to find that perfect gift or simply can't find anything unique enough for the tobacco enthusiast on your list.

   And finally in this issue check out our Editorial "The Best Things in Life . . ." in which we take a look at those pesky non-profit organizations, the 501c(3)'s, that seem to permeate the anti-smoking forces. We got some really interesting information on them. Also of interest in the field of anti-smoking/risk assessment research is a paper provided by the CATO Institute. The Institute is a well respected group that serves a governmental watchdog role that is both important and impressive. This particular "white paper" concerns the Shelby Amendment. This legislation, passed in October of 1998 (over the objections of a lot of anti-smoking and medical related lobbying groups as well as certain members of the US Congress who are in the pockets of such groups) mandates public oversight and disclosure of all research data (not just the often non-scientific and whimsical conclusions) that ultimately leads to legislation. In other words, all of the highly questionable research that has led to the current risk assessment status of tobacco usage can now be made public. The paper is very interesting and can be found by click the following link: A new window will open which you can close when done.   http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-366es.html

   We also wanted to share with you some of this season's photos of our tobacco growing experiments. The three photos below represent periods from sowing (planting not including germinating time of a couple of weeks) of 8 weeks 10 weeks and 12 weeks. The last picture (with the cool flowers, which have a wonderful and heady Night Blooming Jasmine scent), shows the plants after at least 50 leaves were harvested over the period. Four different plants are represented in this bunch. Three very similar (Montecalme Yellow, Chilean, and a Orinco variety from the Amazon) have very thick wide leaves. The Jasmine tobacco plant (the left hand side of the plant bunch) produced thinner smaller leaves but as mentioned above had great flowers. After drying (curing) and a little roasting, the resulting tobacco (with the help of a very small amount of flavorings) was really pretty good, with a much more woodsy, nutty taste and aroma than professionally produced tobacco. I didn't like the taste of this first-attempt tobacco as well as the varieties produced by the best professional growers and processors, but with practice, a more studied selection of seed varieties, improvement in harvesting timetables, and much more attention given to the curing and flavoring process, I am completely confident that within five years (actually five growing seasons which could be accelerated down to only a couple of years by growing year-round in a greenhouse), I could produce tobacco that is every bit as mild and tasty as my current favorites. The plants are really easy to grow but be warned that deer and snails love them. As you can imagine, fifty (50) of these plants (growable in about 100 square feet of soil) could easily supply you with most or all of the tobacco you would need yearly. To read our intentions, the details of the experiment, and the specifics of the various processes mentioned, click here. A new window will open which you can close when done.

   So sit back and enjoy the final issue of RYO Magazine for the year 2000 and by all means keep the e-mail and letters coming. And if you have or know of a product that you think we should take a look at, please let us know. Go to our contact page or email us by clicking here.

   Check out the links below and keep abreast what is happening in the tobacco wars. It directly effects you and your right to smoke and other endangered freedoms more and more every day. - the ed.   

1. http://www.smokersalliance.org    -  The National Smokers Alliance
2. http://www.forces.org     -   FORCES  -  A national smoker's rights organization
3. http://www.smokers.org    -  The American Smoker's Alliance
4. http://www.fujipub.com/fot - Friends of Tobacco - A Tobacco and Smoking information clearing house
5. http://www.junkscience.com - A highly entertaining site exposing fraudulent and expensive scientific extrapolations.
6. http://thomas.loc.gov - Current, past, and pending legislative actions, bills, and sponsors - a huge resource.

   Also, most of the news services (CNN, Fox, ABC, MSNBC, etc.), have extensive archives of smoking related articles both pro and con. They are great resources for both sides of the issue. Their websites are easily found in search engines or by URL (i.e. cnn.com).

Without a doubt, what should be the handbook for the smoker's rights enthusiast, Don Oakley's "Slow Burn" - an incredibly well researched, powerful history of the facts and fallacies (mostly) of the anti-smoking movement from its organized inception in the early 60's to present - is available at Amazon.com (click the book graphic at right to purchase it immediately online from Amazon.com (highly recommended). This book is filled with detailed accounts of the step-by-step conspiracy that has created the anti-tobacco environment we all suffer today as well as many portents of the dangers of attorney driven campaigns to change the ways our basic rights are defined. It's all about money and it will make you angry . . . AND. . . you will be amazed at how much wool has been pulled over the eyes of the American sheep population.

Below are some additional links to sites with some in-depth information on the colorful
and fascinating history, complete with photos, of the American Tobacco Industry.

1. Jim Shaw's Burnt Offerings
Lots of photos of old cigarette packs, ads and other historical esoterica.
2. The Cigarette Pack Collector's Association
Compendium of cigarette historical data and collectibles with lots of links.
3. The Duke Family Homestead
Fascinating history of the founder of the American Tobacco Company and Duke University.