Herbal cigars?

[Anne]

In Ireland, we have a ban on the smoking of tobacco in the workplace.  As the theatre is a workplace (apparently!), we cannot use tobacco products onstage anymore.  Cigarettes are no problem, because we can get herbal ones in the health food shops, but I'm now working on a play which requires the actors to smoke cigars. 

I went to www.herbalcigar.com, but my designer didn't like them because they weren't big enough.

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas?!?

[avkid]

I suppose you could buy several of those, cut them up and roll your own cigars.
As to where you can find large rolling papers, I have no clue.

[PSMKay]

It's a pity that the herbal cigar folks are all the way in India.  If you've got a long run ahead of you, you may well go through enough product to make it worth requesting a special order.  There cannot be too many vendors of herbal cigars out there, my guess is those folks have the rolling equipment handy and might be able to do up a case on spec if business is slow.

If you're booked for enough performances it might be worth stocking up and deep freezing them.  The smoking bans are not going away and there are enough works out there that call for smoking - a case of custom herbal cigars will not go unused.

[KMC]

I did a bit of research on this and this is certainly a tricky one.

I've seen (and tried, thanks to an eager salesman) smokeless cigars.  They are battery powered and use cartridges.  They smell exactly like a real cigar, however they're made from tobacco extract that does not contain the toxins of a normal cigar.  Up close though it's fairly obvious that it's not a real cigar thanks to the non-lit tip.  Smokeless Cigar link

The smoke from this is actually a lot less aggressive on the smoker so it would be ideal for an actor.

As far as herbal cigars, I feel really sorry for the person who'd have to smoke those...  I smoke cigars occasionally and I cringe at the thought of smoking an herbal cigar, I think it would be incredibly harsh on the person's mouth, throat and lungs. 

As for hand-rolling cigars, cigars are rolled with a large tobacco leaf.  Not sure if you'd be able to find any rolling paper, but it'd likely wind up looking like a giant joint reminiscent of a Cheech & Chong movie.

[dcwhitson]

Ha! That is so funny those are sold at Target!

[avkid]

As for hand-rolling cigars, cigars are rolled with a large tobacco leaf.  Not sure if you'd be able to find any rolling paper, but it'd likely wind up looking like a giant joint reminiscent of a Cheech & Chong movie.

I was toying with the idea of dying rolling paper in tea or something, similar to the way some of us make parchment.

[AMEER]

In california we also have a ban on Smoking Tobacco Indoor. However, there are over 16 exceptions and one of them is THEATRICAL WORK; what you do on stage is a whole another issue so if you have an entertainment permit, you have a SMOKE ON STAGE PERMIT.

READ THE EXACT ARTICLR OF THE LAW in your state, you might find the same clause.

am33r

[sourc3]

I believe the "state" in question here is "Ireland"

http://www.marijuanaalternatives.com/herbal-blunts.htm

^ Several options available there. Not sure exactly how big your designer is looking for?