according to the Rizla logo, they’ve been in business since 1796 (!!). is there some way to validate this?
on another note, I’ve noticed on the new silver pack that it’s chlorine-free. sooo for however long now, everyone’s been getting a chlorine high too? nice one guys.
I could be wrong, but I believe the problem with chlorine bleached paper is the chlorine byproducts in the wastewater, not any of it remaining in the paper.
Why would you doubt it? Rolling papers were manufactured by the Lacroix company as early as the 16th century. (BTW: Riz = rice, La+ = Lacroix)
Rizla+ is a nice brand because it provides a quality choice between different burn rates. My favorite handrolling tobacco, Bali Shag, can dry out very rapidly; in that event, a slower-burning paper provides a much more consistent (if harsher) smoke.
Residual chlorine in paper is a problem because it can produce dioxins (from organic compounds found in paper) when burned. I’m not sure if the temperature of a burning cigarette is right to form dioxins (little dioxin forms below 250°C, and the maximum is around 300-350°C), but it’s particularly important that a type of paper that’s meant to be burned and inhaled is chlorine-free, as dioxins are extremely toxic even in tiny doses. In chlorine-free paper, there is no risk of dioxin (or a related group of toxic chemicals called ‘furans’) forming if the paper is burned or incinerated, assuming that the paper really is chlorine-free.
There is chlorine free, and then there is chlorine free. Most paper these days is elemental chlorine free (ECF), which means that no Cl2 is used in the process. There may be (and probably is) chlorine dioxide (ClO2) used. TCF paper (totally chlorine free) has no chlorine compounds of any kind used in its manufacture.
There will be no harmful levels of dioxin in cigarette paper of any kind. If you look at this site you will find a list of the dioxin levels found in some paper products. You will see that chlorine bleached kraft pulp paper towels had a dioxin level of 7 parts per trillion. That is 7 nanograms per kilogram. When you consider that the basis weight of cigarette paper is around 45 grams per square meter you realize that the amount of dioxin present would be 3.15 nanograms per square meter.
A single width Zig-Zag paper is around 50 mm by 78 mm, or 0.0039 square meters, so the amount of dioxin oresent in a rolling paper would be 1.2 X 10 to minus third nanograms.
The LD50 (oral) for dioxin in rats found in this site was 20 micrograms per kilogram. That’s 20,000 nanograms per kilogram. The approximate lethal dose for humans is 70 milligrams per kilogram, or 70,000 nanograms per kilogram of body weight. I’m sure that the 0.0012 nanogram dose in a cigarette paper will be harmless.
Plus, I’m a little amused by someone worried about dangerous chemicals in cigarette papers.