Many people believe that shag is simply a lower grade of tobacco. Tobacco and shag in everyday use, comparison

An alternative to imported tobacco of dubious quality can be natural domestic shag without harmful impurities

The tobacco industry is the only one in the Russian economy that is not subject to the import substitution program. To the question Politika.ru about whether there are plans to import substitution of imported tobacco raw materials and revive domestic tobacco growing, the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation answered briefly and clearly: “No.” And this is despite warnings from experts that the monopoly of transnational tobacco companies on the supply of tobacco to Russia directly threatens the food security of the Russian Federation. After all, if Western partners for some reason decide to introduce “tobacco sanctions,” then Russians will literally have to “smoke bamboo,” since Russia is 100 percent dependent on imports of raw tobacco. Timid attempts by enthusiasts to push through projects to revive tobacco growing in the Kuban and Crimea did not yield results: it seems that such a business conflicts with the strict anti-tobacco doctrine. But Russians would not be Russians if they did not find a way out of the most seemingly hopeless situations. As Polytika.ru found out, despite bureaucratic obstacles, a completely domestic and natural smoking product is still produced and confidently makes its way to the consumer!

This product is called shag. The same shag that many generations of our compatriots smoked and with which Russia went through two great wars of the last century. “You can’t even fight without shag,” he said People's Commissar Food Industry USSR Anastas Mikoyan, also responsible for supplying the front with smoke. “Makhorka is defense.” After the war, shag was part of soldiers' allowances until the 1960s, and after that it was stored in strategic warehouses along with cereals, stewed meat, tobacco and alcohol.. Previously, shag was grown in the country all the way to Siberia: this herbaceous plant of the nightshade family is not as picky about natural weather conditions as tobacco. Nowadays, shag for the tobacco market is cultivated in the Samara region: specialists from a small and little-known tobacco enterprise, Tabachok LLC, are engaged in this. “Today Tabachok LLC is perhaps the only custodian of the classic shag making traditions in Russia. For this purpose, the company uses only the best Russian raw materials, from Kraft paper to the use of domestically produced shag,” says the company’s website.

And here’s what industry expert, president of the Ural Cigar Club Dmitry Shlaen says about the Samara tobacco startup:

“This is a legal product produced in Samara. It consists of crushed tobacco chips. The peculiarity is that shag is not included in the classification of tobacco products and is not subject to excise taxes. It was mentioned in early editions, but then legislators apparently decided that shag was a thing of the past,” D. Shlaen.

And indeed: due to the fact that shag was not subject to a strict excise policy, the cost of production and consumer prices for it are very gentle and acceptable for a smoker of any income. And most importantly, as experts note, shag does not contain any impurities or dubious additives that are used to “coat” the recovered waste of imported tobacco imported to Russia for the production of cigarettes.

“Unlike what currently fills our cigarettes, real shag does not contain these bad additives, maintaining its natural purity. However, product quality and ecology have always been higher than fashion,” the portal notes. Otzovik.com. The website of the capital's dealer Tabachok LLC indicates that shag is sold in packs weighing 50 grams. It contains 100 percent tobacco groats. It is especially noted that shag is “ natural product, does not contain chemical additives, without GMOs, without preservatives, does not contain tobacco sauces or flavors ».

Alas, the owners of Samara LLC Tabachok responded to a request for an interview with a refusal. At the same time, as it turned out, Samara enthusiasts and shag-makers have generally become known as silent people: you won’t find any conversations with the founders of this socially-oriented business or their comments in any media. It seems as if producers of domestic shag are afraid to jinx their business, or even attract the attention of anti-tobacco activists. The position in these difficult times is understandable. However, Polytika.ru believes that since the shag makers from Samara have taken up the tobacco import substitution project that people need and is in line with state interests, enthusiastic entrepreneurs should be helped with expert and legislative levels, on the information field. Therefore, from now on we intend to comprehensively study and promote the topic of shag with the involvement of industry experts, social activists, and State Duma deputies.

Oleg Molodin

What is shag and how to smoke it?

In the minds of many people lies the belief that shag is the lowest grade of tobacco, which is produced exclusively for consumption by the poor. But this is a big misconception, since shag is an independent plant from the nightshade family, the genus tobacco, a type of “country tobacco”. Common names for shag tobacco - Indian tobacco, Turkish tobacco, Aztec tobacco, shag.

Shag traces its ancestry from wild tobacco, which was first discovered in South America European sailors in the sixteenth century. Together with potatoes, it went from the mainland, but not to Europe, but to Russia, where it became widespread and popular. This is why shag is most often associated with Russia. Already in those days she was a faithful companion of men of different ages and social status. Since that time, shag began to successfully compete with tobacco.

It is worth noting that shag has a unique taste and smell, different from tobacco. Therefore, it was used not only by poor people, but also by representatives of the upper class, as an alternative to tobacco. The gentlemen filled pipes with shag, the ladies sniffed it, and the men twirled the world-famous “goat legs”, the secret of the creation of which can only be seen on the screens in old films about the war.

In addition to the fact that shag is used as a separate product, nasvay is made from it - green balls, which, in addition to shag, include linseed ash, slaked lime, oils and spice plants. Nasvay is not smoked, but placed in the top and lower lip. Under no circumstances should you swallow saliva, as the product can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Nasvay is good as an alternative to smoking. It is recommended to use it for those people who want to quit smoking. The rich taste of tobacco and spices may well satisfy the smoker's needs.

A distinctive feature of shag tobacco is that it is less whimsical than its older brother. Even in the Arctic, shag is successfully grown, because most of all this plant values ​​​​light, not warmth. And during the period of white nights, shag gives the best harvest. Thereby unique property The shag industry took one of the leading places in production, that is, it truly became a consumer product. But against the backdrop of such popularity, in pursuit of profit, many manufacturers began to supply low-quality products to the shelves, adding tobacco stems to pure shag. Officially, in 1905, the government allowed the addition of stems with a mandatory indication on the packaging percentage it is in the product, but in any case, the popularity of shag fell along with its quality.

A modern commodity dictionary defines shag as a mixture of crushed stem and leaf of the fermented plant Nicotiana Rustica, which contains the alkaloid nicotine. The optimal strength of shag is from 1.4 to 2.2% nicotine. Although, depending on the variety, the place where shag grows, and the year of harvest, these indicators can vary greatly. Fermented shag leaves can contain nicotine from 2.9 to 4.2% on a dry matter basis, up to 13% protein substances, up to 18% organic acids, and up to 3.3% nitrogen. In the stems these figures are lower - nicotine no more than 2% per dry matter, protein substances up to 8.6%, organic acids up to 11%. By mixing leaves and stems, shag of varying strengths is obtained.

In the Soviet Union, shag was grown in the RSFSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR. Moreover, only in Ukraine was shag planted by sowing seeds directly into the ground. In Russia and Belarus, pre-grown seedlings were used, which significantly increased the cost of the final product. In the fifties of the last century, more than twenty varieties of shag were grown on the territory of the Soviet Union, each of which had not only its own distinctive properties, but also a unique taste.

For getting quality product plants are collected from the fields in the second half of August and dried until mid-October. After this, in stacks at a temperature of 18 to 20 degrees and with a humidity of at least 75%, the shag undergoes fermentation for 18-25 days. As a result of this process, the green taste in shag disappears, the leaves acquire a golden-cinnamon hue, the nicotine and carbohydrate content is reduced, resistance to mold increases, and the fullness of the tobacco flavor is revealed. The greenish tint of the leaves and the taste of greenery indicate that the fermentation process took place under inappropriate conditions and did not give the desired result.

Today, the main standard that regulates the quality of shag is GOST 7129-79, which replaced the corresponding GOST 7129-54. According to it, shag raw materials are divided into three grades. Raw materials of the highest quality must have mature, dense leaves in an amount of at least six pieces per plant. Medium grade raw materials must have fully mature leaves in an amount of at least 4 pieces per plant. Low-grade raw materials must have at least two leaves on the plant, which, by definition, do not fit into the second grade. The main types in the production of shag are smoking and snuffing. To obtain the optimal balance of taste, strength, and nicotine content, shag tobacco is used different varieties and from different areas.

Since the leaves contain a large percentage of nicotine, to obtain an acceptable strength in the production of shag, the stems are also used, with which the raw materials are diluted in crushed form. During the grinding process, the leaves turn into fine grains ranging from golden brown to dark in color. Badyl (stems) look like hard white wood grains. Leaf to stem ratio finished product, the quality of the raw materials, determines the grade of smoking shag. The Soviet Union also produced shag cigarettes, which were divided into corresponding varieties. In total, there are five varieties of smoking shag:
— Vergun – this shag is produced exclusively from the botanical variety Nicotiana Bustica, which is different yellow leaves. The resulting smoking shag has a golden color, a distinctive taste and smell of smoke. Vergun is produced only from raw materials of the highest and medium grades.
— Smoking shag of the highest quality – raw materials of the highest and medium grade are also used for its production. But there are no restrictions on the botanical varietal composition. Various mixtures with a specific aroma and taste can be created.
— varieties of smoking shag Strong No. 1, Medium No. 2 and Light No. 3 differ in the ratio of the content of leaves and badyl, and therefore in strength and taste. With an increase in the composition of the mixture of solid particles (ground badyl), the strength of the shag and its grade decreases. The humidity of shag should not exceed 20%, in otherwise it may become moldy.

During the production of smoking shag, shag dust is formed, which partially remains in the finished product. But most of it is sucked out by pneumatic units. After this, shag grits are created from it, which can be added to the Krepkoy No. 1, Sredny No. 2 varieties due to soft particles, and to the Light No. 3 variety due to hard particles.

To determine the quality of smoking shag, the nicotine content, weight, fractional composition, pack design and humidity are checked. To do this, a series of chemical analyzes are carried out, sifting the sample to determine the fraction, drying and visual assessment of the density of the packing and sealing of the packs. The smell of smoke and taste were determined organoleptically. For the smell of smoke, shag can receive a maximum of 16 points, for taste - 18 points, for strength - 8 points and fullness of the taste of smoke - 8 points. As a result, the highest quality product has an organoleptic score of 50 points. Packs for packaging smoking shag have standard sizes: 84mm length, 50mm width and 32mm height. The weight of such a pack should not be less than 50g with a permissible deviation of 5% in any direction.

To produce snuff shag, a plant crushed to a dusty state is used, to which mint oil, rectified alcohol, refined molasses, glycerin, table salt, potash, soda ash and 25% ammonia are added.
As before, there are only two varieties of snuff shag - top quality and ordinary. In the first case, nicotine should contain at least 1.8%, and the proportion of large particles should not exceed 1% of the total weight of the shag. In ordinary snuff, it is allowed to increase the proportion of solid particles to 2%, and reduce the strength to 1.4% nicotine content. To package snuff shag, foil is additionally used as the inner layer in the pack.

A distinctive feature of shag is its hygroscopicity and ability to quickly absorb foreign odors. Therefore, during its storage and transportation, moisture should not get on the boxes with shag. Do not store it with smelling goods, such as fish, leather, etc. From the date of production, shag has a guaranteed shelf life of 1 year, after which it is necessary to double-check the quality of the product. After two years, shag almost completely loses its taste and strength. If stored incorrectly (humidity above 80% and temperature above 20 degrees), this period is significantly reduced.

Trade in shag at the beginning of the last century
The popularity of shag at the beginning of the last century was simply stunning. The nationalized shag industry was concentrated in the shag syndicate, which included enterprises from Russia and Ukraine. Subsequently, Ukrainian manufacturers separated, organizing their own trust.
The increase in demand for shag was due to the fact that yellow tobacco products increased significantly in price. Against this background, after the revolution, many private entrepreneurs rented factories and factories that stood idle without work. By 1928, shag plantations increased several times, and a good harvest contributed to the development of the industry. Despite the fact that state policy was aimed at restraining private entrepreneurship, manufacturers still appeared on the shag products market who managed to establish themselves with the most the best side. But still, the share of state industry in shag production was the lion's. Moreover, each factory, private or public, produced shag of different quality, taste and smell. This was influenced not only by the conscientiousness of the technologists, but also by the botanical varieties of shag tobacco used.

Before the First World War, consumer tastes were quite clear and each manufacturer focused on its own segment of buyers. Thus, strong shag was needed in Siberia; black shag, which had the highest nicotine content, was imported to the northern regions. In Central Russia, people preferred medium shag, and in the south, only products with a low nicotine content were in demand. Almost every factory offered 8-10 brands of shag, but the emphasis was always on a specific consumer. After the revolution, almost all factories produced the so-called “semi-grain No. 8”. But by the 20s, there was a tendency to increase brands and varieties according to the previous tastes of consumers.

The quality and variety of shag at the beginning of the century, as today, largely depended on the location of the source raw material. Thus, shag tobacco plantations could be found in Central Russia, Siberia, and the Poltava and Chernigov regions of Ukraine. The main areas for the procurement of raw materials for the production of smoking and snuffing shag were concentrated here. The best leaf tobacco shag grew on the lands of the Pekhletsky district and Usmansky district in Central Russia, and the Konotop and Romny districts of Ukraine. It was from here that the highest grade raw materials were supplied for the production of exceptionally aromatic shag.

Experienced shag makers could easily distinguish products made from Russian raw materials from shag made from Ukrainian tobacco. And this despite the fact that the composition of botanical varieties in the regions was almost the same. In order for the products to receive all the splendor of the aroma of Ukrainian and Russian shag, many manufacturers considered it obligatory to mix shag from Ukrainian and Russian lands in a certain proportion. Most often, Russian factories added up to 40% Ukrainian shag to local raw materials. many factories were famous for the skill of the sorter, who skillfully mixed varieties to obtain a unique taste. At the same time, only rich factories could afford to purchase high-quality raw materials in the required quantities from the required region. And it was they who offered products that were beyond competition. In addition, large factories had high-level equipment, which made it possible to save on shag losses during drying and grinding, which in turn had a positive effect on the cost of the product.

Snuff shag was produced after the revolution in only two varieties: selected mint and green mint. For its production, only shag leaves and tobacco dust were used. The dust content was different for each factory, as was the recipe for the aromatic mixture, which was the secret and calling card of each manufacturer. It is worth noting that after the First World War the prices for snuff and shag changed. Shag began to be valued significantly higher, as consumers appreciated its delicate aroma and lightness. In addition, manufacturers did not skimp on developing new aromatic mixtures for snuff.

You can't ignore the smelling scented shag " gold fish", which was extremely popular among the population. This is shag of the highest quality, finely powdered with a soft hint of menthol. Nicotine in “Golden Fish” contained no more than 1.8%, humidity not higher than 25%. The strength and cooling sensation were increased by potash (1.5% of the weight of shag), ammonia (15%), peppermint oil with 50% menthol content (0.5%). The “Goldfish” snuff shag was produced in packs of 50 g each, lined with foil and parchment.

The shag market was quite extensive. Consumer demand was fully satisfied not only by large factories, but also by private manufacturers. At the same time, factories could be found in all parts of the country, which made it possible to provide the population with high-quality, fresh and cheap shag.

Almost all the factories of the Moscow syndicate produced shag of the same variety, but of different brands. And only the Ranenburg factory and the Morshan factory produced two varieties of shag. “Exemplary” shag was produced here from best views raw materials, “Ordinary” brand, the famous shag “Semi-grain No. 8”. At the same time, prices for shag from the Moscow syndicate ranged from 24 rubles per box of 20 kg to 8 rubles, depending on the variety and brand of shag.

Ukrainian manufacturers separated from Russian ones, forming their own trust, the main office of which was in Kyiv. But there were representative offices not only in Ukraine, but also in Moscow, Leningrad, Rostov-on-Don and others Russian cities. In total, the trust included 6 factories concentrated in the north-west of the country. The most popular variety was No. 8, which was produced by the First and Ninth factories in Kremenchug.

Separately, it is necessary to say about the popular smoking shag “semi-grain No. 8”, which was produced at the Tsentrosoyuz shag factory. This cooperative association was located in the village of Staroe Seslavio, Kozlovsky district, Tambov province. The factory produced at least 450 boxes of high-quality shag per day. Moreover, production volumes, and therefore profits, allowed us to have access to the best raw materials from Ukraine and Russia all year round. This is the only factory in the Soviet Union with such conditions and capabilities.

The quality of Centrosoyuz shag has always been at high level and in a competitive environment she had no equal. Mahorka was not supplied to the free market, but was distributed throughout the periphery. At the same time, the price of a product of such high quality has always remained relatively low and varied around 22 rubles per box.

A popular way of using smoking shag on the territory of the Soviet Union was the so-called “goat's leg”, the process of creating which was a real art. Ideally, you should have used tissue paper for this. But its limited quantity, and subsequently changes in the economic opportunities of the population, forced the use of simple newsprint as an alternative. Having correctly twisted the boat, poured required amount shag and rolling a tube, you got an original cigar. A wonderful song performed by Shulzhenko romantically and in detail describes the whole process and shows his love for shag. For a long time she remained the man's constant companion. Whether he was resting after a long day of work, enjoying the sunset in nature, or leaning on a gun on a military campaign - shag always decorated the moments with its unique aroma and pleasant smell.

Shag tobacco has a number of properties that allow it to be used in other industries National economy. Like all members of the nightshade family, shag seeds have a high content fatty oil, which can be used in soap making, paint and varnish, chemical industry. Despite the fact that the shag tobacco plant has a number of useful properties Its main use is in the tobacco industry. Today, interest in shag is returning and it is possible that over time, if it does not displace tobacco from the market, it will find its own army of fans who will be able to appreciate its delicate aroma and taste.

Makhorka refers to a type of tobacco that was actively smoked and snorted by Slavic peoples a hundred years ago, but now the plant has become exotic

Description

Makhorka (Ukrainian Tyutyun) is an annual herbaceous plant with a rounded ribbed stem and a tap-shaped root that penetrates deeply into the ground, from the Solanaceae family. The shag is native to the northern regions of South America, where it supposedly originated from the crossing of two varieties of tobacco: wavy (N. Undulate) and paniculata (N. paniculata). Mahorka came to the Slavic people from Europe in the 17th century, and first it appeared on Ukrainian soil, and then, in connection with the permission of smoking tobacco products by Peter I, it began to be grown in Russia, quickly gaining popularity both among peasants and among aristocratic layers of society. Makhorka even managed to give rise to a real smoking ritual, the implementation of which required mastering the skill of rolling cigarettes, the so-called “ goat legs", from scraps of thin paper or newspapers.

About 130 days passed from sowing brown oval shag seeds in chernozem or soddy-podzolic soil to obtaining a full-fledged mature plant, and by this time the wrinkled petiolate leaves of the plant, covered with glandular hairs, began to emit a specific tobacco smell. Shag was harvested from the fields in August, dried and placed in warehouses, where the above-ground part was subjected to a fermentation process for a month at an air temperature of 20°C and a relative humidity of 80%. Next, the dry plant was moistened, cut on special crumbling machines, sifted through a vibrating sieve and passed through a drying drum. The residues that did not pass through the sieve were again cut on the machine and added to the finished shag mixture, which was then sent to packaging machines.

Smoking and snuffing shag was produced. The first of them was prepared from leaves and badyls (stems), since preparing smoking shag exclusively from leaves alone would lead to an prohibitive concentration of nicotine in the final product. But badyls contained little nicotine and were used to produce shag of lower strength. Thus, smoking shag was a mixture of greenish-brown grains from the leaves and white woody grains from the shoots of the plant. The snuff tobacco contained plant leaves crushed into dust with the addition of mint oil, glycerin, rectified alcohol, table salt, refined molasses, soda ash, potash and ammonia solution. This was the technology for the production of shag in Soviet times, and grew it on a large scale in the USSR and Ukraine. Moreover, Ukrainian raw materials were very different from Russian ones in terms of preparation method and quality, and experienced smokers easily distinguished pure product of one country or another. Therefore, many factories found it useful to mix different types of tobacco from different provinces, and this activity gradually became a kind of art. Factories competed to produce the best shag in terms of taste and strength, and the recipe for the proportions of each of them was kept in the strictest confidence.

Currently, the production of shag has practically been reduced to zero, which many explain by the greed of the manufacturers. Making a product from the leaves was costly, and badilla processing was cheap, which led to the gradual addition of more and more stems to the raw material. Gradually, shag began to be produced almost entirely from badilla, and such a product was distinguished by its unpleasant taste and pungent odor. Ultimately, there followed a complete replacement of shag with related tobacco, which had an excellent price-quality ratio. Today you can find shag only in some private farms, from where it is supplied to minimum quantities on the world market as an exotic product.

Chemical composition

Dry shag leaves contain organic acids (especially citric acid), nicotine, nicotine, nornicotine, anabasine, harmine, tetrahydroharmine and harmaline.

Medicinal properties of shag

Nicotinic acid can be obtained from shag leaves, which is widely used in traditional medicine for cardiovascular and skin diseases, as well as for pathologies of the digestive system.

Harm

Smoking shag, like classic tobacco, negatively affects all tissues and organs human body. First of all, abuse of shag threatens chronic diseases lungs, heart and blood vessels, and with long-term consumption - cancer.

Who can tell the difference between tobacco and shag? This question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. The fact is that the answer lies, as it were, on two planes - the purely botanical and the everyday colloquial. Let's look at both areas in more detail.

Tobacco and shag in everyday use

In Russia, it has long been believed that tobacco and shag are almost synonymous. Only shag is such a very coarse tobacco that comes exclusively in loose form, and besides, it strongly “tears the throat.” And the tobacco is thinner, weaker. Shag is suitable for rolling cigarettes or as a last resort for stuffing tubes (and then only in exceptional cases), and tobacco is used for cigarettes and also for pipes.

In general, the difference between tobacco and shag in the everyday sense ends here; only a few touches remain to be added to the portrait of both. A close “relative” of shag is “samosad”, and, as the name implies, this is tobacco planted in one’s own garden. But tobacco grown in Russia is of low quality, due to two main factors. The first is that tobacco is a heat-loving plant and is practically not grown north of the 55th parallel (approximately the Moscow-Chelyabinsk axis and further to the east), and the second, which is a consequence of the first, is the absence of a tobacco cultivation culture. “Pipe” tobacco is a 100% imported product; usually has quite high quality and is often treated with flavorings.

Comparison

Having decided on the everyday meaning of the words “tobacco” and “shag,” let’s figure out whether there is a difference between them in the botanical sense. It turns out there is! In botany, tobacco is a genus of perennial and annual herbs belonging to the nightshade family - that is, it is a close relative of potatoes and tomatoes. The Colorado potato beetle, a well-known potato pest, also eats tobacco leaves with an excellent appetite.

And shag is one of the plant species belonging to the genus “tobacco”, in Latin – Nicotiana rustica. Its main difference from other tobacco products is its unpretentiousness. The boundary of the shag's distribution area due to its high resistance to adverse climatic conditions located much further north than other representatives of the genus. In addition, shag is subject to significantly lower requirements than tobacco in general.

The history of the penetration of tobacco into Europe is traditionally associated with the era of great geographical discoveries, when Columbus's sailors brought an unfamiliar plant, and with it the habit of inhaling tobacco smoke. It is interesting that if tobacco in general is used almost exclusively for the manufacture of cigarettes, cigarettes and cigars, then several more uses have been found for shag. Thanks to high content in the leaves citric acid it serves as a raw material for the production of this valuable food product. In addition, ingredients are extracted from shag to produce nicotine sulfate (a pest control agent) and nicotinic acid (a vitamin involved in many redox processes in the human body).

Table

Let's summarize what is the difference between tobacco and shag. This table contains both the differences and similarities between them in two aspects - botanical and everyday.

Tobacco itself originated in Europe, where it was grown and then processed from the Nicotiana tabacum plant.

But Peter the first to introduce pampering into Russia - shag - spread it among the people. Smoking mixture obtained from the plant Nicotiana rustica, which means rustic tobacco.

As a result, it turns out that shag and tobacco are relatives, differing only in the characteristics of cultivation. And they preferred shag rather than tobacco because only wealthy people, of whom there were not so many, could afford tobacco supplies from Europe.

*This is what Nicotiana tabacum, from which tobacco is obtained, looks like

And this is what Nicotiana rustica looks like, from which shag was made in Russia



Of course, tobacco and shag are completely different plants, although they are similar to each other. Both belong to the nightshade family and the tobacco genus. It is incorrect to believe that smoking shag is made from tobacco, and it is not advisable to do so. If you smoke shag and real tobacco (not the kind in modern cigarettes ah), then you will understand the difference. Modern cigarettes contain almost no tobacco at all - they are generally a wild mixture of chemicals, including chemical warfare agents. Smoking real tobacco and shag is many times less harmful than smoking modern cigarettes. After several days of smoking real tobacco and shag, the cough stops and the smoker’s health improves. So if you smoke, you better switch to real products.

Although tobacco and shag are made from related plants, and often from the same thing, there is a difference. First of all, in the parts and processing method. Shag is often made from the stems and other rough parts of the plant. And tobacco is made from high-quality leaves of the plant. You can smoke makhorka, but I don’t recommend it. In our family, torn packs of shag were once used to protect things in closets from moths.

I know that both products are from the same plant, the only difference is in the processing. Shag - it's easy dried leaves Nicotiana Tabacum, and tobacco is already fermented leaves of the same plant. Although maybe I'm wrong.

Because these are different plants, although related. Botanists say that shag can be called cousin tobacco They have different seeds, and the plants look different, even on early stages. Here, I quote people who grow both:

Shag is the dried and simply cut leaves of the Nicotiana Tabacum (botan) plant. Tobacco is specially processed leaves of this plant. First they are fermented - dried in special conditions. Then they are crushed and sifted, separating the hard veins. Then they are treated with special compounds with honey. Dry. And only after this, smoking or snuff tobacco is obtained from shag.



Tobacco is usually called the plant itself of the Paslanaceae family, which contains nicotine and weak narcotic substances.

And shag is already a smoking product. As a rule, shag is obtained from dried, crushed leaves and roots of tobacco.





Shag differs from tobacco in that they are two different flowering plants, which at one time belonged to the same family. Even the plants themselves have similar features. However, shag became more widespread than tobacco. The thing is that tobacco was supplied from other countries, which is why it was expensive, and shag was grown here, and that’s how it became more widespread.

Shag and tobacco are completely different plants, but they belong to the same species and it is not a substitute for the poor; at one time it was often smoked by very rich people.

Mahorka tastes and smells a little different and is more aromatic. It may well be that in our time, it would have been more popular if the manufacturers had not cheated with it; they added ground tobacco stalks to the shag. This lowered smoking rates and greatly damaged the reputation of shag.

Now it is mostly grown for nasvay, these are round green balls, they are not smoked, but chewed and held behind the lip (upper or lower), saliva cannot be swallowed, it causes diarrhea and vomiting.

Real, or virgin tobacco- Nicotiana tabacum

An annual plant that grows wild in South America, where it can reach a height of up to 3 meters; usually does not branch or branches very weakly, the shape and size of the leaves vary greatly among different varieties, the number of leaves ranges from 16-18 to 40-60. The number, size of leaves and thickness of the leaf blade are the main economically valuable traits that determine the yield of tobacco plants. The flowers are pink or reddish, located in a paniculate apical inflorescence. Tobacco is currently cultivated in 84 countries around the world and is characterized by a wide variety of varieties and forms. Its intraspecific polymorphism is constantly increasing due to the creation of new, mainly hybrid forms, as well as due to its inherent plasticity in changing characteristics and properties under the influence of various growing conditions. The botanical taxonomy of this diversity is difficult, therefore the prevailing classification is based on the suitability of tobacco for processing (cigarette tobacco, cigar tobacco, tobacco leaf for wrapping cigars, chewing and pipe tobacco). There are also sustainable tobacco ecotypes that are of industrial importance: Brazilian, Virginia, Cuban, etc. There are 13 varieties of tobacco zoned in our country. The most common: " Virginia", "large-leaved", "Holly", "Anniversary", "Samsun", "Bryansk" And " Cigar".

The cultivation of tobacco, especially cigar tobacco, is quite labor-intensive. Cuban tobacco growers-farmers claim that each plant in the field must be approached at least 150 times per season to obtain excellent quality raw materials (plants at certain stages of development are pinched, then the inflorescences and lower contaminated leaves are removed). After this, the leaves are carefully removed at weekly intervals, sorted by texture and size, dried and winnowed, sorted again, fermented, and aged in bales for many months. What follows is the virtuosic manual labor of cigar factory workers who transform a stack of leaves into amazingly high-quality Havana cigars. There are many interesting stories associated with Havana cigars. John Kennedy, who was very fond of Havana cigars, imposed an embargo on their import into the United States, but only after his personal secretary purchased several thousand Havanas. A Havana cigar signed by Fidel Castro was bought at auction for $65,000 by one of the French tobacco magnates. Among Havana fans was the English writer Evelyn Waugh, who once remarked: “The most useless and unfortunate day seems wonderful when viewed through the blue fragrant smoke of Havana cigars.”

Photo by EDSR.