Editing Cigarette (section)

=== Tobacco blend ===
[[File:LeonesCigs.JPG|thumb|Leones Africanos brand cigarettes from the mid-20th century, part of the permanent collection of the [[Museo del Objeto del Objeto]]]]
The process of blending gives the end product a consistent taste from batches of tobacco grown in different areas of a country that may change in flavor profile from year to year due to different environmental conditions.<ref name=DEMerrill>David E. Merrill, (1994), [https://archive.org/details/haq23e00 ''"How cigarettes are made"'']. Video presentation at [[Philip Morris USA]], Richmond offices. Retrieved October 31, 2006.</ref>

Modern cigarettes produced after the 1950s, although composed mainly of shredded tobacco leaf, use a significant quantity of tobacco processing byproducts in the blend. Each cigarette's tobacco blend is made mainly from the leaves of flue-cured brightleaf, burley tobacco, and oriental tobacco. These leaves are selected, processed, and aged prior to blending and filling. The processing of brightleaf and burley tobaccos for tobacco leaf "strips" produces several byproducts such as leaf stems, tobacco dust, and tobacco leaf pieces ("small laminate").<ref name=DEMerrill/> To improve the economics of producing cigarettes, these byproducts are processed separately into forms where they can then be added back into the cigarette blend without an apparent or marked change in the cigarette's quality. The most common tobacco byproducts include:
* Blended leaf (BL) sheet: a thin, dry sheet cast from a paste made with tobacco dust collected from tobacco stemming, finely milled burley-leaf stem, and [[pectin]].<ref name="PCL Sheet">{{cite web|url=http://g2public.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/batco/html/13000/13099/ |title=Legacy Tobacco Documents Library |publisher=G2public.library.ucsf.edu |access-date=March 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212175208/http://g2public.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/batco/html/13000/13099/ |archive-date=February 12, 2009 }}</ref>
* Reconstituted leaf (RL) sheet: a paper-like material made from recycled tobacco fines, tobacco stems and "class tobacco", which consists of tobacco particles less than 30 [[mesh (scale)|mesh]] in size (about 0.6&nbsp;mm) that are collected at any stage of tobacco processing:<ref name=Gellatly>Grant Gellatly, {{cite web | title= Method and apparatus for coating reconstituted tobacco | url= http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4706692.html | access-date= November 4, 2006 | archive-date= September 29, 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070929120436/http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4706692.html | url-status= live }}. Retrieved November 2, 2006.</ref> RL is made by extracting the soluble chemicals in the tobacco byproducts, processing the leftover tobacco fibers from the extraction into a paper, and then reapplying the extracted materials in concentrated form onto the paper in a fashion similar to what is done in [[sizing|paper sizing]]. At this stage, [[ammonium]] additives are applied to make reconstituted tobacco an effective nicotine delivery system.<ref name=WigandWHOReport/>
* Expanded (ES) or improved stem (IS): ES is rolled, flattened, and shredded leaf stems that are expanded by being soaked in water and rapidly heated. Improved stem follows the same process, but is simply steamed after shredding. Both products are then dried. These products look similar in appearance, but are different in taste.<ref name=DEMerrill/>

According to data from the World Health Organization,<ref name="WHO Manufacturing Tobacco">{{cite web|title=13 Manufacturing Tobacco |url=https://www.who.int/tobacco/statistics/tobacco_atlas/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203212748/http://www.who.int/tobacco/statistics/tobacco_atlas/en/ |archive-date=December 3, 2011 }}. Retrieved May 11, 2011.</ref> the amount of tobacco per 1000 cigarettes fell from {{convert|2.28|lb|kg|abbr=in|order=flip}} in 1960 to {{convert|0.91|lb|kg|abbr=in|order=flip}} in 1999, largely as a result of reconstituting tobacco, fluffing, and additives.

A recipe-specified combination of brightleaf, burley-leaf, and oriental-leaf tobacco is mixed with various additives to improve its flavors. Most commercially available cigarettes today contain tobacco that is treated with sugar to counter the harshness of the smoke.