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Loosie guides · 5 min read

Roll-ups vs cigarettes.

Two things people often believe about roll-ups: they are cheaper, and they are somehow more natural or less harmful. The first is usually true. The second isn’t supported by the research. No judgement here either way, just what the numbers say.

Are roll-ups cheaper?

Usually, yes, and mostly because of tax. Loose tobacco is taxed by weight, while factory cigarettes are taxed per stick and by price. A 2018 study of ITC survey data worked out the tax inside a single cigarette at the time:

CountryTax per factory cigaretteTax per typical roll-up
UK£0.28£0.10
AustraliaAU$0.70AU$0.43

How much you save depends on how much tobacco you put in each one. A survey across 18 European countries found a median of 0.75 g per roll-up, but it ranged from 0.48 g in England to 1.15 g in Spain. In the UK and Australia, where tobacco is expensive, smokers rolled thinner cigarettes over time, using about 2% less tobacco each year.

To see your own numbers, use the rolling tobacco mode in the smoking cost calculator. Count how many roll-ups you get from a pouch, and don’t forget papers and filters.

Are roll-ups safer?

The research doesn’t show it. A few studies, from different angles:

  • Exposure in the body. A 2009 study at University College London measured cancer-causing compounds in smokers’ urine. Roll-your-own smokers had no lower exposure than people who smoked factory cigarettes. The authors wrote that the results do not support the belief that roll-ups are less harmful.
  • Smoke per cigarette. A 2009 study of smokers in New Zealand found that roll-ups delivered more smoke per cigarette, with similar carbon monoxide levels, and concluded that even with filters they are “no less and possibly more dangerous”.
  • Long-term disease. Tobacco in Australia, a major public health review, says roll-your-own tobacco causes the same range of diseases as factory cigarettes. A Norwegian study following about 26,000 people for 28 years even found a higher lung cancer rate among roll-up smokers, though other data show no difference.

The short version

  • Cheaper: usually, by a lot in high-tax countries. The exact saving depends on how thin you roll.
  • Safer: no evidence for it. Studies find similar or higher exposure.

Know your real numbers

Loosie logs cigarettes and roll-ups alike, one tap each, on iPhone or Apple Watch. Set what your tobacco, papers and filters cost and see what it adds up to. Everything stays on your devices and in your own iCloud. 18+.

Get Loosie on the App Store→

Sources

  1. Branston JR, McNeill A, Gilmore AB, Hiscock R, Partos TR. Keeping smoking affordable in higher tax environments via smoking thinner roll-your-own cigarettes: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four-Country Survey 2006–15. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2018;193:110–116. University of Bath research portal; University of Bath announcement.
  2. Gallus S, Lugo A, Ghislandi S, La Vecchia C, Gilmore AB. Roll-your-own cigarettes in Europe: use, weight and implications for fiscal policies. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014;23(3):186–192. PMC4127802.
  3. Shahab L, West R, McNeill A. A comparison of exposure to carcinogens among roll-your-own and factory-made cigarette smokers. Addiction Biology 2009;14(3):315–320. PubMed 19523045.
  4. Laugesen M, Epton M, Frampton CM, Glover M, Lea RA. Hand-rolled cigarette smoking patterns compared with factory-made cigarette smoking in New Zealand men. BMC Public Health 2009;9:194. PubMed 19538719.
  5. Engeland A, Haldorsen T, Andersen A, Tretli S. The impact of smoking habits on lung cancer risk: 28 years’ observation of 26,000 Norwegian men and women. Cancer Causes & Control 1996;7(3):366–376. PubMed 8734831.
  6. Tobacco in Australia. 3.27 Health effects of smoking tobacco in other forms.
  7. Cancer Research UK. Roll your own cigarettes: how dangerous are they?