The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-03-10
DEADLY TEA CIGARETTES
MADE TO satisfy A yICE NEW
HERE But OLD ABROiD.
Women the Chief Tea Smokers --Agonlcs
Felt After the First Trial of the
Cigarette.


Of new fashions IS the tea cigarette.
That this Is 10 empty, baseless story OF
"a new craze IL shown by the application
made last week 10 the Commissioner OF
Internal Revenue at Washington for per-
mission TO manufacture tea cigarettes
that. to engage In such manufacture, he
must comply with he law governing the
manufacturing OF tobacco cigarettes, tea
being a substitute for tobacco; that
he must register, give bond,
and 80 on, and that the CT.
sarettes. when made, must be pack
ed. stamped. branded. and labelled. ex-
actly as The tobacco cigarettes. before
the government would sanction their re-
moval from the factory for sale.
While the vice Of smoking tea is COM
paratiyely new 20 the United States, IL
is not new 10 Europe Russia is respon-
sible for the tea cigarette, but how the
habit originated is not known. Tea IS,
10 great extent. q national beverage
IN Russia. The Russians have tea houses
Whert We have saloons, a man goes into
a tea house and orders quart Of tea and
some cigarettes, as here men order a
stein Of beer. Tea is che< and plentiful
in Russia. 1t Has been Or years Gus
tom OF many rich Russians to take the
most expensive cigars from the factories
of Havana. costing in some cases $50
each in Cuba. and pack them in gold
or silver boxes which are made alright
there being a layer OF green tea at the
bottom Of the box. a layer of cigars,
another OF tea. and so on until the box
IS filled. Then the box IS closed. and it
is kept closed until the cigars are need
ed for consumption. The idea IS that the
tea gives very attractive and peculiar
fragrance TO the fine Havana tobacco,
and this is true. From this, possibly,
sprung the idea Of the tea cigarette.
Moreover, cheap Russian cigarettes are n
nightmare: they are sold at the rate OF
about ten for a cent and their quality
may be best estimated by the fact that
the Russian poor man smokes only half.
and throws the rest away. Tea. being
so plentiful and cheap may have been
tried and found more agreeable.
Several descriptions of the tea cigar
cite have been printed. but these have
erred in the presumption that the tea
was taken ms sold, rolled up i'm a paper.
and smoked. This would he practically
impossible as the sharp edge Of the tea
would cut the paper I'm all directions,
srSil the draught and render the cigar
cite unsmOkablc. To make the tea cigar
cite one takes a grade Of green tea which
has but little dust being composod Of
unbroken leaf. and dampens II careful
ly. just enough 10 permit the leaves 10
be unrolled without being broken. and so
10 be left pliable and capable OF being
stuffed in the paper cylinder. while the
dampness Is not sufficient to stain the
..fsr
few days, and are then ready TO be
smoked.
The feeling OF n tea cigarette in the
mouth Is peculiar. The taste is not so
disagreeable as might be supposed. but
tho effect on the tyrO is a sense OF thick
cning In the head and disposition 10
lake hold Of something or 10 sit down
~ the beginner quits then. that settles
IL: he will not try tea cigarettes again
II. however. the smoker sit down and
Try a second cigarette iuhaiing it deep
ly. then the thickening feeling passes
and Is succeeded by one Of intense ex-
hiiaratiOn; the nerves are stimulated un-
iii the smoker feels like flying, skirt dam
cling. or doing something else entirely
out Of the common way. This stage lasts
as long as the smoking continues, which
IS until the reaction of the stomach sets
in.
Words cannot describe the final effect
OF the tea cigarette. The agony of the
opium fend is is a shadow 10 that Of
the nauseated victim of the tea cigarette.
1t viii he hours before food can be looked
al, yet the step toward a cure is a cup
of tea. An hour afterward comes the
craving sor the tea cigarette.
a tea cigarette. in the quantity Of tea
used, Is about equal to the
fAsa 49,
strong green tea. and. being inhal-
I'd instead Of taken in the form OF an
infusion. its action is about ten times
as great. If tea smoker gets through
with twenty cigarettes day. he takes
the equivalent of about forty cups OF
tea as regards the quantity consumed.
or Of 200 cups as regards the effect. This
shows mt once what the result i'm the ner-
VOWS system viii be. The tea cigarettes
are already on sale in this city at several
first-class stores or cigar dealers who have
Romen's trade and this has come about
simply because the women ask for them.
So far the cigarettes have been said
without internal revenue stamps on the
boxes or any preliminary internal revenue
supervision. The ruling Of the Commits
sioner will put totally different as
pect on the matter and dealers handling
the Illicit product will get into trouble
The chances are that the tea cigarette
VIII be confined only 10 a certain type Of
consumers, although the corridors of the
highest class hotels to-day contain mute
evidence Of its consumption. The pecu-
liar Odor Is unmistakable
Tho latest abomination in New York
smoking is perfumei cigarettes: these
have been Inflicted on the people before
this. but the former product was not
Of the present offensive duality. Every
body IS familiar with the brown paper
tape 10 be burned for fumigatory pur-
poses which one smells on Broadway.
Some one has taken this tape. cut II
into thin strips, and woven a strip into
thc fun length OF each cigarette. so
that the taste is the taste of tobacco,
while The smell Is the smell Of the tape
intensified by the original cigarette odor.
The principal patrons Of The new article
are girls. 4 man was giving samples
away at the BrOoklyn-bridgc entrance on
Friday night and he was neary mobbed
Tor them by typewritters and shop girls
A process to meet the wants of yachts
men Is 10 take cigars, place each one in
galatine tube. and pack the tubes in
an ordinary cedar box, which. after being
labelled and stamped, is immersed bodily
IN melted parafiine wax. rendering the
cigars Incapable OF change by the sea air
until the box 8 opened. The cigars are
packed twenty-five In boN.-New ok