Self-lighting cigarettes seem to be an idea that inventors keep dreaming up, not realizing that the idea has already been tried. The basic problem with them is identified in this thread on the Guardian. Either the head of the cigarette rips off as you try to light it, or it doesn't light and you're left with a smashed-up cigarette.
Also, although I'm not a smoker, it seems like a problem that doesn't need a solution. I get the sense that smokers like the ritual of lighting their ciggies.
Muncie Evening Post - May 21, 1929
Des Moines Register - June 28, 1951
Deca self-lighting cigarettes were sold in the UK in the 1960s. Image via Flickr.
"1972: South Korean inventor Whang Kyu-bong invents the self-lighting cigarette."
Whang Kyu-bong? I wonder if he also invented the bong.
Posted by Virtual on 08/14/17 at 10:19 AM
The New Fangled Fags seems like a good name for a rock band, although I wonder what the old Fangled Fags were like.
Posted by RobK on 08/14/17 at 10:35 AM
> I get the sense that smokers like the ritual of lighting their ciggies.
The ritual, and the gentle taste of that first little puff, is the most important part of smoking for a lot of people. There were proposals over the years to create cigarettes which were very short, so all you got was the ritual and a couple of puffs, but there are all sorts of problems which couldn't be overcome, from having to light it only an inch from your nose to there being laws about the minimum amount of tobacco in anything called a cigarette.
Posted by Phideaux on 08/14/17 at 10:56 AM
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Category: Inventions | Smoking and Tobacco