Roll-your-own cigarette

{{short description|Cigarette assembled by the user as opposed to a manufacturer}} {{Redirect2|Roll your own|Handrolled cigarette|the term in poker|List of poker variants|the Hong Kong film|Hand Rolled Cigarette}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} thumb|upright=1.35|A roll-your-own cigarette

A '''roll-your-own''' ('''RYO''') '''cigarette''', also called a '''handrolled cigarette''', '''roll-up''' or '''rollie''', is a cigarette made from loose tobacco (usually a ''shag'' cut) and rolling paper. Factory-made cigarettes are called industrial or tailor-made cigarettes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theconthatkills.org.au/how-are-tailor-mades-manipulated | title=How are tailor-mades manipulated? }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-12-tobacco-products/12-2-other-types-of-tobacco-products |last=Winnall |first=WR |last2=Scollo |first2=MM |chapter=12.2 Other types of tobacco products |editor-last1=Greenhalgh |editor-first1=EM |editor-last2=Scollo |editor-first2=MM |editor-last3=Winstanley |editor-first3=MH |title=Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. |location=Melbourne |publisher=Cancer Council Victoria |year=2022}}</ref> U.S. federal law defines ‘roll-your-own tobacco’ as tobacco that, because of its appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is suitable for use and likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco for making cigarettes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Products |first=Center for Tobacco |date=2022-12-08 |title=Section 900 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - Definitions |url=https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/rules-regulations-and-guidance-related-tobacco-products/section-900-federal-food-drug-and-cosmetic-act-definitions |journal=FDA |language=en}}</ref>

==Rolling tobacco== Rolling tobacco, or cigarette tobacco, is the primary tobacco used for RYO cigarettes. It is generally packaged in pouches.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scollo |first1=Michelle |last2=Zacher |first2=Meghan |last3=Coomber |first3=Kerri |last4=Bayly |first4=Megan |last5=Wakefield |first5=Melanie |title=Changes in use of types of tobacco products by pack sizes and price segments, prices paid and consumption following the introduction of plain packaging in Australia |journal=Tob Control |date=April 2015 |volume=24 |issue=Suppl 2 |pages=ii66–ii75 |doi=10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052071|pmid=28407614 |pmc=4401343 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

After 2009, the United States federal tax rate on RYO tobacco was raised from $1.0969 per pound to $24.78 per pound.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/41.30|title=27 CFR 41.30 – Pipe tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco tax rates |access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref> This increase has caused many people to switch to using pipe tobacco to make cigarettes, since the pipe tobacco tax rate was also increased, but only to $2.83 per pound.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/bill-would-close-tax-code-loophole-on-roll-your-own-tobacco/ |title=Bill Would Close Tax Code Loophole on Roll-Your-Own Tobacco |work=Partnership for Drug-Free Kids |access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref>

A Tobacco Control (BMJ) analysis reported that after the U.S. federal tax disparity was created, retailers began offering cigarette rolling machines for consumers to use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tynan |first=Michael A. |last2=Morris |first2=Daniel |last3=Weston |first3=Tara |date=2015-06-01 |title=Continued implications of taxing roll-your-own tobacco as pipe tobacco in the USA |url=https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/24/e2/e125 |journal=Tobacco Control |language=en |volume=24 |issue=e2 |pages=e125–e127 |doi=10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051531 |issn=0964-4563 |pmid=24721968|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2025 that because pipe tobacco is taxed at a lower rate than roll-your-own tobacco, ‘consumers who hand roll cigarettes may have an incentive to use pipe tobacco’, and that manufacturers also had an incentive to relabel products as pipe tobacco.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tobacco Taxes: Federal Revenue Implications of Tax Rate Differences and Drawback Refunds |url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-25-107903.pdf |access-date=2026-01-20}}</ref>

In Australia, loose tobacco was taxed less than manufactured cigarettes until September 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The truth about rollies? Warning: it ain't pretty |url=https://www.quit.org.au/articles/truth-about-rollies-warning-it-aint-pretty/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=quit.org.au |language=en}}</ref> Australia’s tax treatment of loose (per-kilogram) tobacco products such as roll-your-own tobacco is being aligned with the per-stick excise rate for manufactured cigarettes by progressively lowering the ‘equivalisation weight’ from 0.7 grams to 0.6 grams, with the new weight fully in effect from 1 September 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Excise duty rates for tobacco |url=https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/tobacco-and-excise/excise-duty-rates-for-tobacco |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251118060529/https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/tobacco-and-excise/excise-duty-rates-for-tobacco |archive-date=2025-11-18 |access-date=2026-01-20 |website=www.ato.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, HM Revenue & Customs raised tobacco duty rates from 30 October 2024, applying the standard tobacco-duty escalator and increasing the duty rate for hand-rolling tobacco by an additional 10% (to 12% above the Retail Price Index).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tobacco Duty: changes to rates from 30 October 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tobacco-duty-changes-to-rates-from-30-october-2024 |access-date=2026-01-20 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> In January 2026, a Tobacco Control (BMJ) study discussed the UK affordability gap between hand-rolling tobacco and factory-made cigarettes and modelled scenarios for increasing hand-rolling tobacco duty to reduce that gap.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=Ryan Kai Le |last2=Morris |first2=Damon |last3=Angus |first3=Colin |last4=Gilmore |first4=Anna |last5=Hiscock |first5=Rosemary |last6=Holmes |first6=John |last7=Langley |first7=Tessa Elisabeth |last8=Pryce |first8=Robert |last9=Wilson |first9=Luke Brian |last10=Brennan |first10=Alan |last11=Gillespie |first11=Duncan |date=2026-01-06 |title=Reducing the exceptional affordability of hand-rolling tobacco using tax escalators: a health and economic impact modelling study for England |url=https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/05/tc-2025-059670 |journal=Tobacco Control |language=en |doi=10.1136/tc-2025-059670 |issn=0964-4563 |pmid=41494920|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Ireland’s Budget 2026 (October 2025) increased tobacco excise, with the government reporting pro-rata increases applying to other tobacco products, including roll-your-own tobacco.<ref>{{Cite web |title=50c increase on pack of cigarettes, alcohol duty unchanged |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/budget-2026/2025/1007/1537085-budget-2026-alcohol-cigarettes-/ |access-date=2026-01-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Financial Resolution No. 1: Excise |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2025-10-07/6/ |access-date=2026-01-20 |website=www.oireachtas.ie}}</ref>

==Cigarette rolling== thumb|left|German cigarette roller Cigarette rolling may be done either by hand or with a {{ill|cigarette roller|de|Zigarettendrehmaschine}}. It should not be confused with {{ill|cigarette stuffer|de|Zigarettenstopfer}}.

thumb|"Goat's leg" rolling In Russia a special kind of self-rolled cigarette was in use, called "goat's leg" ({{langx|ru|козья ножка}}). A paper (commonly a newspaper paper) was rolled in a cone, which was bent in half in the middle and the wider part was filled with tobacco. In a way, it resembled a tobacco pipe.<ref>[https://mir-tabaka.su/Istoriya-samokrutok-delaut-a-2063.html История самокруток и как их делают]</ref>

==Prevalence== As of 2006, relatively few smokers in the United States (6.7%) rolled their own cigarettes.<ref name=":0" /> In contrast, this rate was 17.1% in Canada, 24.2% in Australia, and 28.4% in the United Kingdom.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|title=Prevalence and attributes of roll-your-own smokers in the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey| pmc=2593057 | pmid=16754951 | doi=10.1136/tc.2005.013268| volume=15| year=2006| journal=Tob Control| pages=iii76–82 | last1 = Young | first1 = D | last2 = Borland | first2 = R | last3 = Hammond | first3 = D | last4 = Cummings | first4 = KM | last5 = Devlin | first5 = E | last6 = Yong | first6 = HH | last7 = O'Connor | first7 = RJ| issue=Suppl 3 }}</ref> Reasons for this difference include the generally lower price of traditional cigarettes in most states in the US compared to Canada and Europe.<ref name=":0" /> {{Update|date=March 2026}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{cite web|url=http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/26/E/52/A/5702 |title=26 U.S.C. § 5702 : US Code – Section 5702: Definitions |publisher=Codes.lp.findlaw.com |access-date=2013-11-11}} US tax code definitions

Category:Cigarette rolling papers Category:Paper products Category:Cannabis smoking Category:Drug paraphernalia Category:Tobacco accessories Category:Cigarettes