Rolling papers/Rizla/1500's?

[Sam Clements]

<<Rizla has been making cigarette papers for a long time - a very long time - 400+ years. That's right. It was in the mid 1500's when a member of the LaCroix family made the first tobacco rolling papers. They weren't called Rizla then, not until they started using rice compounds for paper. (Riz - French for Rice and La - for LaCroix). They became popular in the US and Europe (they originated in France) by the mid 1800's. >>

This is lifted from the website http://www.ryomagazine.com/january/papers.htm

While this may be slightly out of the scope of this list, I'd love anyone who has insights or abilities to confirm or deny their assertions about rolling papers in the 1500's.  

Thx.

Sam Clements

PS--as usual, this one came up over at The Straight Dope.