# Does "packing" your cigarettes really work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897 "2002-03-30T08:21:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/21 "2014-05-02T15:13:20Z")
As a smoker, I have come to understand that Cecil was absolutely right and nobody really knows why. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/22 "2014-05-02T15:21:09Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Like a twist on a doobie, ha, ha! Thanks for that, I guess I grew up with filters only! When properly rolled, a doobie should not need to be twisted. It should be indistinguishable from an unfiltered Camel except for the color the contents. Or, um, so I’m told. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/23 "2014-05-02T15:54:54Z")
I’m really here so I can say “when I used to smoke.” It’s been two freakin’ _years_ since we “really” quit. I took us five or six years of on/off trying, but it really has been two years—today! Anyway, I was in the pack them so they light easier camp. That little bit of paper takes to a match or weak lighter very well, something a lot of outdoor smokers need (and now that most/all smoking has moved outdoors, it’s all the more important). There were new smokers (high school and college kids) who made up silly rituals and justifications (and since so much of smoking is non-addicted physical things, packing just felt right), and there is definitely something to the compaction making the cherry stay on. But for me and my ilk, an easily lit smoke was the goal. When I used to smoke, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/24 "2014-05-02T16:04:08Z")
I had a friend who used to always pack his cig against his thumbnail before lighting. Like a prick, I took one, emptied it of tobacco, and inserted a rolled piece of paper. He didn’t even notice while packing, and his reaction upon lighting was unforgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/25 "2014-05-02T16:40:51Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’m really here so I can say “when I used to smoke.” It’s been two freakin’ _years_ since we “really” quit. I took us five or six years of on/off trying, but it really has been two years—today! Congrats to you and whomever else constitutes “us” ! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/26 "2014-05-02T17:43:17Z")
Thanks–the ‘us’ bit is my wife and I quit together. Rough, but the only way possible, really. Two years? _Two_ years? I know it’s still the first steps of quitting–lots and lots of people made it two years, so it’s not like we’re safe yet–but damn. Feels good to have made it this far! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/27 "2014-05-02T19:21:32Z")
I’ve tested this many times. Through delivery, the tobacco gets loose and won’t burn evenly. You can light an unpacked cig and let it burn down and see how the loose tobacco burns faster than the non-loose tobacco. This is also why sometimes you see a cig with a 2 inch ash but still see paper on one side. Another affect is when you tap it, unpacked cigs will have live ashes flying all over the place. Packed cigs will only drop the dead ashes. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/28 "2014-05-02T21:09:01Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Thanks–the ‘us’ bit is my wife and I quit together. Well, that was the least interesting possible answer, but congratulations anyway! ---
**Author:** ![65GTOTRIPS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/bb73d2/32.png) [@65GTOTRIPS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/65GTOTRIPS)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/29 "2017-11-07T01:10:22Z")
I’ll smack, pack down my unopened pack around 100 hits on my palm. Typically, I get approximately 3/8” of an inch, paper only, on the business end of each smoke. • Reduces loose cherry • Get a more intense/concise puff • The cigarette definitely burns much faster Regards, Dave [Moderator Note: Please don’t post in large font and colors. Edited to fix formatting Colibri General Questions Moderator] ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/30 "2017-11-07T01:13:42Z")
Faster? Don’t you mean slower? I mean, okay, it’s been about 15 years since I’ve been a regular smoker, but packed cigarettes always burned slower for me. (Think American Spirits, which are packed tight as shit–those burn sloooooow.) Why would you _want_ a faster burn? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897/31 "2017-11-07T01:20:25Z")
I have never taken a puff of this stuff, and know I never will. But from a close friend that taught me everything one needs to know about smoking weed has let me know that packing does make a noticeable difference. Just a greater dose of that stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-packing-your-cigarettes-really-work/100897.md?page=1)