Shelf life of tobacco - sent to us by a supporter (August 2002)
I have a letter from Imperial Tobacco which states as follows.
RE Shelf life of Cigarettes
I refer to our recent telephone conversation in which you requested that I confirm the shelf life of cigarettes.
This is a topical issue at the moment. I was recently asked by Customs and Excise to clarify our view of shelf life.
I confirmed to them that all our tobacco products will remain in very good condition for 12 to 18 months provided they were kept in normal storage conditions. Normal storage conditions would exclude hot or very damp conditions. The period of time could be increased if they were kept in cold conditions e.g. a freezer. The condition of tobacco products is governed by the moisture content, but even if they became drier they could still be smoked, although they would taste harsher.
Hand rolling tobacco and cigars for example can be easily reconditioned by exposing them to moisture, indeed there are commercial products available to recondition cigars. To recondition cigarettes however would be more difficult.
In conclusion, it would be wrong to suggest that tobacco products had a "shelf life" for the above reasons.
I hope you find these comments helpful.
Yours sincerly
Imperial Tobacco.
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