Are Organic Cigarettes Any Better?

We all know that tobacco smoke and smoke in general is not good for you to inhale. Anyone trying to steer you otherwise is full of crap. But for those of us who know the risks and do love a good puff anyway, there is a lot out there to puff on. Those of legal age can choose from the pipe, hookah, cigar, or one of many kinds of cigarettes. Choose your device and then we’re talking about variations in size, flavor, and brand. It’s a hell of a smoky world out there with humidors and shelves and cases full of things to light up and enjoy if you know what you’re looking for.

Out of the midst of products conspicuously labeled with warnings of cancer and early death rises the organic cigarette. It shows up as nearly benign when paired against products of questionable reputations and tainted history of litigation. It might even seem friendly, or like it may be the only cigarette that is doing anything right. They’re the nice ones. They’re the thoughtful cigarette. They’re not as lethal as a Marlboro Red or as intrusive as a big fat cigar. (Or so you might think.) The organic cigarette conjures up imaginations of a clean, non-chemical burn. They just sound smart.

So are organic cigarettes any better?

And are they better than what? Other cigarettes?

With a price that averages roughly $2 USD above the average price of a cigarette, an organic cigarette can actually burn through your wallet before you ever light one up. But let’s say that price isn’t an issue or that you’re willing to spring a little more cash for something that is supposedly cleaner or supposedly safer for your body. Is there a case for actually smoking them as a safe alternative to non-organic and non-natural cigarettes? Or is that just an easy assumption to make? Does buying something “organic” actually help the earth or help farmers in any way?

As far as the implied safety of an organic cigarette goes, have you heard the phrase, “There is no such thing as a safe cigarette?” Well, it’s true. And even marketers of organic cigarettes will tell you that. American Spirit, the only U.S. brand made of 100% certified organic tobacco, even states on their product packaging that “Organic tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette.” On their natural cigarettes, they state “No additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette.”

So let’s say you’re wearing your big girl panties or big boy underwear and decide for yourself that although you can’t have safe cigarette to smoke, that you’d just like to settle for something less harmful. Is an organic cigarette less harmful than a non-organic cigarette?

The tobacco for organic cigarettes is grown with the use of pesticides, contrary to popular belief. Organic farming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website is [food] grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Pesticides derived from natural sources (such as biological pesticides) may be used in producing organically grown [food]. (If you’re thinking that, well, tobacco is not a food, check this out: The USDA categorizes tobacco and food alike as agricultural products, and certification for growing organic agricultural products whether food or tobacco is according to the same guidelines.) These pesticides are harmful to mostly the target pest and closely related organisms, are usually effective in small doses, and often decompose quickly. Biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring and non-toxic.

According to American Spirit, all of their cigarettes, containing both natural and organic tobacco, contain no additives. So what do you need to know about additives? Well, not all additives in cigarettes are harmful. In 1994, the six major cigarette companies made public the U.S. Government’s approved list of 599 additives for use in the manufacture of cigarettes. Water, vinegar, rosemary oil, and prune juice are some of what you can see on that list. Many of these additives are benign. Good to know. Yet when burned, some of these additives create toxic compounds, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer. So it’s obviously good not to have that crap billowing into your lungs and creeping into your bloodstream.

One might think that ruling out the possibility of nasty additives and avoiding a chemically pesticide-infused tobacco-growing process must produce a “better” cigarette. Well, there is less crap in organic cigarettes. This is true. But voiding out those harmful and environmentally unsound materials from the smoke you’re inhaling does not mean that you are inhaling no toxins or no carcinogens. Nicotine itself is a carcinogen. Tobacco, when it burns, even in its purest form, produces carbon monoxide and tar which are second and third carcinogens in addition to the tobacco itself. Naturally occurring in tobacco and the tobacco curing, aging, and fermenting process are nitrosamines, a type of chemical carcinogen that is also found in “many foods, including fish, beer, fried foods, and meats. Some nitrosamines cause cancer in laboratory animals and may increase the risk of certain types of cancer in humans.”

Now we’re not for raining on anyone’s parade or trying to take the fun out of everything. We’ll let your mom do that for you. But it’s cool to be an educated consumer, regardless of the choices one makes for themselves in the end. Someone might still comprehend the personal danger of smoking even an organic cigarette and choose to do it anyway. So is there any up-side? (Not that we need one.)

Perhaps organic cigarettes lend a hand to our environment and economy.

Perhaps. But it’s complicated. Tobacco production tanked in the mid-nineties when tobacco litigation blew up in front of the American public. It continues to be a tough world for tobacco farmers. But farmers growing the flue-cured and burley varieties of the plant (the most common kinds found in cigarette manufacturing) are making competitive moves by going organic. Apparently, the demand for organic tobacco leaf is doubling each year according to Rebirth of a Lifestyle, a book that chronicles the changing times in the tobacco growing industry. Organic tobacco farming seems to be a viable way for farmers to stay afloat and even grow in a tough industry.

Organic farming in general, including tobacco farming is truly better for the environment. Organic farmers are noting the return of wildlife to their fields after shifting to organic production. Butterflies, wild turkeys, and even doves have come back to visit the farms. No doubt the business of organic tobacco products creates a demand that causes people to do better business and hurt the environment less. But is that $7-9 pack of American Spirits gonna save a butterfly? Or Farmer Tim? How would you ever know? Just know that you’re not becoming a savior with your dollars. Enjoy your smokes if you must, but don’t bet your life on it. Literally.