Compiled by Tobacco Online according to TJI During recessionary times, largely due to the economic downturn and higher cigarette taxes, self-rolling cigarettes have always surged, while snus has become increasingly popular, especially among health-conscious smokers and trendsetters.

　　Self-rolling cigarettes are popular among low-income and student populations, and with growth rates that have exceeded 10% in many countries over the past few years, the demand for packaging machinery has increased. Smokeless tobacco, especially snus, is also growing rapidly and is a product category of interest. Initially something consumed primarily by Swedes, the product has grown slowly but steadily as an alternative for the entire smoking population regardless of income or social status, with the highest growth rates in the United States, India and Asia.

　　The EU is far behind, as snus is only allowed to be sold officially in Sweden and is prohibited from being sold legally in other EU member states. The reason for this is that tobacco in any form is unhealthy and should be stopped altogether. This reasoning may be a bit odd for situations such as those where statistics show that snus users have fewer health problems than cigarette smokers, which is confirmed by years of health data that show that Swedes have the lowest lung cancer rates in the EU. The best hope for approving snus use in the EU was pinned on a six-month Swedish presidency to push for EU-wide approval of snus sales. However, it did not succeed.

　　This may have dashed the hopes of packaging machinery manufacturers, but they have no reason to complain, as orders for snus bags are plentiful, especially for small, compact machines. Add to that the recent announcement by Ochia in the U.S. that it will launch Marlboro snus smokeless tobacco products nationwide in 2010, since it test-marketed smokeless products in 2007. Renault launched its Camel product nationwide in 2009. So snus is here and there is nothing to doubt. Even though snus users now have access to NRTs (nicotine replacement therapies) for their products.

　　Two paths

　　It is expected that packaging machinery for smokeless tobacco products is common, but in special cases, snus machinery will be developed according to two main criteria In countries with high snus prices, where the cost of an empty can is less than 10% of the price, existing packaging systems using tin packaging will continue to dominate the market and require machinery for weighing, dosing, filling, adding weight directly to the can, closing, applying stamp duty stamps, labeling, etc. Among the low-cost countries, that is, the price per package of less than 1 euro (equivalent to 1.36 million U.S. dollars), the trend will be an increase in demand for machinery to fill, enter the zipper bag or fill the pouch.

　　According to Eckhard Merz, founder of Merz Verpackungsmaschinen, one of the oldest manufacturers of smokeless tobacco packaging machinery, located in Lich, Germany (Lich), India is a rapidly growing market, especially for the latter type of machine. To meet this demand, Merz is about to launch a new compact machine, the SB51-T/SBL100, followed by the company's recently launched single-line wrapper, the Tropical "Compact" wrapper, which packs at 400-500 packs per minute directly into the aluminum layer. 500 packs per minute directly into the aluminum layer. The maximum speed for snus packaging, limited by the time required for filling and sealing, is expected to be approximately 650 packs per minute.

　　In self-rolling cigarettes, great strides have been made in speed and reliability. In 2009, Emkon in Germany launched three new packers, the basic 60, the Emkon 120 and the first bagging speed of 180 pouches per minute, the Emkon Speed 180. the secret behind this outstanding technical achievement is the Motion Link technology, a 12-station conveyor capable of reset and precise positioning.

　　Technology Development Ltd. in Campen, the Netherlands, is part of the International Tobacco Machinery Group and, in its own words, the leading supplier of bulk packaging. The company has introduced a new, modern processing facility equipped with a technologically advanced five-axis milling machine. Recently launched products are the FPP210S and FPP220 flexible pouch packaging machines, capable of producing various types of pouches (e.g. side seam and wrap-around pouches) from a wide range of materials. Among the two new developments are dosing and packaging machines for syrups, and the latest high-speed discrete handler for snuff pouches, which enables customers to individually package in a variety of formats, from single tin foil packages to neatly stacked and placed in floating bubbles or in-can packages.

　　Whatever the future holds for self-rolling, snus and other forms of smokeless tobacco, it is better positioned than ever to meet all the challenges and continue to introduce advanced machinery that addresses the challenges. The only possible question is whether machinery manufacturing capacity will be sufficient if taxes continue to drive the steady growth of roll-your-own and snus.