Rolling papers/Rizla/1500's?

[Wilson Gray]

FWIW, I've always had the impression that cigarettes weren't invented
until the time of the Crimean War. Supposedly, Turkish troops ran out
of the easily-broken clay pipes that they normally used for smoking.
So, someone came up with the bright idea of using the paper meant for
rolling gunpowder to make cartridges to roll tobacco, instead. I read
this in an official, board of education-sanctioned comic book of
history when I was in about the fifth grade. Though the comic book had
nothing to say on this point, clearly, it was the use tobacco that
occasioned the downfall of the Turkish Empire. The "Sick Man of Europe"
died of lung cancer.

-Wilson Gray

On Jan 26, 2005, at 8:56 PM, Sam Clements wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM>
> Subject:      Rolling papers/Rizla/1500's?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> <<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. =20
>
> Thx.
>
> Sam Clements
>
> PS--as usual, this one came up over at The Straight Dope.
>