Clove cigarettes are made in Indonesia, where they are the most common kind of cigarette smoked. Depending upon the manufacturer and brand, they contain approximately 60 percent tobacco and 40 percent ground cloves. A clove cigarette looks just like an ordinary cigarette. When smoked, it has the aroma of fresh cloves and a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Clove cigarettes are generally rolled denser than ordinary cigarettes and thus have more substance and body with less air. An unattended burning clove cigarette in an ashtray will go out rather than continue to burn like most other cigarettes. Because of their density, clove cigarettes will generally take longer (and therefore be more “satisfying”) to smoke than American cigarettes.
Over the years there have been numerous studies and research conducted on clove cigarettes. While the results are mixed, a broad generalization is that clove cigarettes are similar to other cigarettes in their health risks. Remember that they contain 60 percent regular tobacco. Because of the addictive nature of tobacco and the harmful by-products produced burning it, there is really no such thing as a “safe” cigarette.
Information for this question was furnished by Graham Kelder, an attorney with the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards and an expert about the tobacco industry.
For more information, check out these articles:
Can You Outsmart the Tobacco Industry?
Fifty-Five Reasons Not to Start Smoking
Additional Resource:
Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn't Tell You-- A book written just for teens about the dangers of smoking. Download this book for free.
Reviewed 11-7-08
