How to Roll a Cigarette

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Last Updated: September 30, 2024 Fact Checked

Rolling your own cigarettes gives you more control over the paper, the tobacco type, and the size of the cigarette. You can roll cigarettes by hand, or you can use a rolling machine. All you need are rolling papers, loose-leaf tobacco, a bit of dexterity, and time to practice.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

How to Form the Cigarette

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1
Choose your rolling paper. Use thin rice or wheat-straw paper in a standard or king size. Plan to tear your paper down to size—wide and square is a solid, versatile starting shape. Buy papers online, in convenience stores, at marijuana dispensaries, and at tobacco shops.
- Look for papers that burn slowly and evenly. Look for papers that contain few chemical additives, as some chemicals burn with a bad flavor. Consider brands like RAW natural hemp rolling papers and Zig-Zag.
- If you plan to carry your papers around with you, get a rolling paper protector. Put your rolling papers into this metal case to prevent them from bending and tearing. Improvise a case from an empty mint or gum tin.
- Carry spare paper. Gummed strips torn from a spare paper are great for mending tears, leaks, and gaps.
2
Buy loose leaf tobacco. You can visit a local tobacconist for a wide range of options, or you can find a bag of basic rolling tobacco in many liquor stores and grocery stores. Look for tobacco that contains few chemical additives. You can buy plain tobacco or flavored tobacco, depending on your taste.
- Consider common, generally affordable brands like Bali Shag and American Spirit.
- Consider rolling clove cigarettes. All you need to do is mix shredded cloves with your tobacco. Clove cigarettes usually contain a ratio of 60-70 percent tobacco to 30-40 percent clove.
- Some people like to roll their cigarettes with pipe tobacco. Feel free to do this, but keep in mind that pipe tobacco is usually longer and wetter than cigarette-rolling tobacco. Thus, it may pack too densely, and it may not burn as well in a cigarette. If you want to use pipe tobacco, try to cut it more finely and dry it out before rolling.^{[1]
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3
Shape the tobacco. Spread the tobacco out evenly on the rolling surface, then use a card or your fingers to form the pile into the shape of a cigarette. Choose a smooth and well-lit rolling surface: a mirror, a book, or a clean table. If you don't want to put the tobacco directly onto a surface, cover it with a clean sheet of white paper.
- It helps if the color of the surface contrasts with your tobacco so that the tobacco doesn't blend in. Rolling tobacco on a thick brown carpet, for instance, could quickly become a nightmare.
- Make sure that the tobacco is not too compact. Tear it apart lightly, so it still forms one connected unit.
4
Rest one end of your rolling paper between your thumb and middle finger. Hold the paper in the crease with your index finger of the same hand. Use the other hand to adjust the paper into a creased, open chute. Hold it steady so you don't spill any tobacco.
- The index finger in the crease serves to stabilize the paper as you add tobacco, and it will also keep tobacco from spilling out the end. This end will become the tip of the cigarette—the part that you light.
5
Fill the crease with tobacco. Use your free hand to pinch the tobacco and sprinkle it along the crease in the paper. Work from one end to the other, starting with the end that you are holding. Transfer the rest of the pile from the rolling surface to the paper. You can roll your cigarette thicker or thinner to taste. The main considerations are whether you can seal the cigarette and how well it pulls. The thicker the cigarette, the harder it will be to close; the more densely you pack the tobacco, the harder it will be to draw the smoke through the cigarette.^{[2]
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- If needed, even out the tobacco along the paper to make it consistent. Getting it as level as possible helps the cigarette burn more smoothly. If it is damp or clumped, gently pick apart any lumps with your fingers.
- You may wish to leave some hanging over the ends: you can pinch it off later, and it will keep the ends from being too narrow.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

How to Roll the Cigarette by Hand

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1
Insert the filter or leave a space for it. If you plan to use a filter, either insert it now or leave a tobacco-less space to slip it in later. Make the space exactly as long as the filter. You have several filter options:
- Buy a bag of fresh cellulose cigarette filters. You can find these online, at smoke shops, and at certain marijuana dispensaries. These are essentially the same filters that you'd find on a store-bought cigarette.^{[3]
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- Remove the filter from a store-bought cigarette. If you have store-bought filter cigarettes around, and you don't want to smoke them—or if you just want to practice rolling—you can carefully tear the paper and remove the filter. Lay this filter into your rolled cigarette.
- Make your own rough filter. First, tear a thin strip of sturdy paper from an index card or business card. Fold it three times to make a pleat, and roll the rest of the unfolded filter around the folded. It should look like a "W" encircled. Make sure that that the folded filter will fit smoothly into the cigarette; you may need to adjust it several times. Keep in mind that this homemade filter will only block the largest particulate matter from entering your lungs.
When the cigarette is full of tobacco, it is ready to roll. Keep holding the paper in the same hand, but grasp the other end in the same way—between your middle finger and thumb. Lift your stabilizing index finger from the paper; you no longer need its support. The paper should rest between the thumb and middle finger of both hands. The tobacco should be evenly spread, except at the very tip where your index finger was.
Your fingers should form a fairly straight line from one end of the cigarette to the other. Use your thumbs to hold the unrolled cigarette slightly below the underside of your middle fingers.^{[4]
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Roll the cigarette between your thumbs and middle fingers.^{[5]
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Research source} Shape the cigarette: compress the tobacco and try to roll the paper tightly. While you do this, gradually apply pressure towards the ends of the cigarette. Try to keep your thumbs and middle fingers parallel.
Once you have molded the tobacco into the right shape, pull your thumbs downward to align the edge of the paper with the top of the tobacco.
6
Roll the cigarette. First, tuck the edge of the paper into the tobacco crease. Apply more pressure with your thumbs, and roll your middle fingers upward. Complete the first rotation: wrap the paper all the way around the tobacco, in the shape of a cigarette, without creasing the bottom of the paper.^{[6]
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- The front edge of the paper should tuck snugly behind the tobacco as you begin to roll. This may take a few tries. Just keep moving the front of the paper up and down, and gently push in with the thumbs until it catches.
Roll the cigarette until only the adhesive end of the paper remains. Activate the adhesive by licking all the way along the edge of the paper; think of it like sealing an envelope.^{[7]
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Research source} When the adhesive is wet, roll the rest of the paper until no edge remains. Seal the cigarette by applying even pressure: run your fingers along the length of the cigarette, and gently but firmly press the adhesive until it sticks. Make sure not to bend, tear, or crinkle the paper.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

How to Finish the Cigarette

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This will make your cigarette neater, better-looking, and easier to smoke. If loose strands of tobacco are hanging from the ends of your cigarette, they may wind up in your mouth or fall onto the floor.^{[8]
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Some smokers prefer to lightly twist one or both ends of their cigarettes. Twisting the tip that you light will prevent the tobacco from falling out of a poorly-packed cigarette. Twisting the tip from which you smoke will keep tobacco from sticking to your lips. A filter will do the trick as well. If you like to twist the tips, consider leaving a bit of space at the ends of each cigarette that you roll.
If you left space for a filter, insert it into the end and tuck the paper around it slightly. If you didn't leave enough space for the filter, use a small, sharp tool—tweezers, a hook, or the tine of a fork—to pull out enough tobacco that the filter fits.
You can roll a new cigarette whenever you want to smoke, or you can pre-roll a bunch of cigarettes so that you don't need to do the work at the moment. Some people find it harder to chain-smoke if they have to spend several minutes rolling each cigarette, though studies show that people that roll do not have an increased rate or motivation to quit smoking.^{[9]
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Trustworthy Source

PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health

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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

How to Use a Cigarette Roller

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This simple labor-saving device makes it much easier to roll joints and cigarettes if you don't have the dexterity to do it by hand.^{[10]
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Research source} Buy a cigarette roller online or at a smoke shop. Follow these steps to use the roller:
2
Pack the machine. First, open the machine: part the two rolling cylinders to reveal a cavity in the shape of a cigarette. Then, pack the cavity with tobacco – as tightly as you like. When the space is full, close the cylinders. One cylinder should move in and out, and one should remain in place. Hold the machine so that the movable cylinder is closest to you.
- Be sure to add a filter now if you want one. Tuck the filter snugly into one end of the rolling compartment.
- Remember that the more tightly you pack the cigarette, the more difficult it will be to draw smoke. This especially the case with machine-rolling.
Tuck the non-adhesive side of a rolling paper into the small gap between the cylinders. The adhesive should face the cylinder that moves. Make sure that the top (adhesive) edge of the paper is perfectly parallel with the top of the rolling machine.
This motion will pull the paper into the machine. Just before the top of the paper rolls into the cavity, stop turning the machine and thoroughly lick the adhesive. This ensures that the cigarette will stick together.
Once you have wet the adhesive, keep rolling the cylinders in the same direction so that you cannot see the paper. Roll the machine a few more times to tightly pack the cigarette, then separate the cylinders. Your cigarette should be smoothly-packed and ready to smoke!

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Tips

Try rolling with the filter tip in. This way, you can make sure that the filter fits before you roll the cigarette.

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Each brand of rolling papers is a bit different, so try several to see which you prefer.

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A rule of thumb: "shag" tobacco cut into long, fine ribbons holds its shape well and is easier to roll by hand. Tobacco cut into small chunks is usually better for rolling in a machine.

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Warnings

Be careful where you smoke. Burning embers can fall from the tip of a cigarette and burn holes in your clothing.

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Smoking is hazardous to your health. Know the facts, and be conscious of how often you smoke.^{[11]
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American Lung Association
Nonprofit health organization dedicated to improving lung health through education, advocacy, and research

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