First off, to
dispel some of the
mythos behind cloves containing
fiberglass; I have read of the few (and far between)
instances of people having problems with
bleeding lungs... but it is
exceptionally rare and only happens with
ludicrously heavy smokers. Any cloves that do contain
fiberglass will not have it in the
tobacco and clove mixture itself. It is in the
filter... and I would go so far to say that if you were to round up all the people that were to have problems with their
lungs after smoking a
ridiculous amount of
clove cigarettes, you would probably find that they were smoking the same one or two brands. I myself have gone through an entire pack of my
favorite cloves,
Djarums, in one night without
coughing up blood in the morning. If you smoke that much on a regular basis, be it cloves or regular
cigarettes,
get help.
Quickly.
The content of
clove cigarettes depends on the
brand and the type of clove, but generally it is a ratio of 60%
tobacco to 40%
ground cloves. The
quality and
grade of
tobacco is generally superior to most standard
American cigarettes, and cloves are not known to contain any
additives or
chemical fillers that are as common in the
States. The
cloves in a
clove cigarette are just your standard cooking clove, the same you probably have
ferreted away in your
kitchen right now.
Cloves are primarily made in
Indonesia, and are also called
kreteks, which stands for '
crackle'. They are so named because of the
crackling sound the ground cloves make while
burning. They do burn slower, mainly because unlike standard
cigarettes, they do not add burning
accelerants to the
tobacco and, depending on the brand, often do not use
gunpowder rings in the paper (look closely at any common
cigarette -
you'll see what I mean). Cloves are also
packed more
densely and will generally last about twice as long as a normal
cigarette. They are much more likely to go out by themselves if you are not
puffing away on them.
As for being
addictive...
I know for a fact that they are. I for one am
happily addicted to them. The
debate about
nicotine content in cloves will go on, but you'll generally notice that people that smoke mainly or only cloves usually
smoke less, or smoke more for
the enjoyment of smoking than simply for
the need for a cigarette. Some will
disagree by saying that a clove is '
stronger' when
inhaled, but this is more likely because of the
quality of the
tobacco and the
presence of the cloves themselves.
Clove cigarettes posess a
taste that is very different than a standard
cigarette, and is described by many as being much more
pleasant and '
sweeter'. The casing of the filters on some brands contain a
mint flavor that will
transfer to your lips while you smoke, enhancing the
pleasant aftertaste of a clove. Cloves also have a
luscious aroma to them before you actually light them.
You can find cloves at most
smoke shops, including the ones at the your local
mall. Cloves can also be purchased online through
e-tailers such as http://www.esmokes.com/ or even directly from
Indonesia at http://www.asongan.com/
Variants: Filtered,
Non-filtered,
Lights and
Milds. There are even
Menthol Cloves, which
taste somewhat like
smoking mint candy.
Brands to look out for: Gudang Garam,
Djarum, and
Sampoerna.
Close cousin: The
Indian bidi.
Some information from the 1997 Clove FAQ by James D. Barger