cigars that use Pectin

gh0st

Hi I've been diagnosed with celiac disease and I've had to be on a strict diet eating no wheat based products and I was smoking a romeo y julieta cigarillo today and felt the same reaction I get when I eat gluten.

I searched on google and low and behold the glue used on cigars is a vegetable paste which contains gluten!

I read around that some cigars use pectin which is a safe alternative for me, but does anyone have any idea how I could find out this information? I'd hate to give up cigars but if they are all gluten based then I have no choice.

thanks in advance

Bob Luken

Finding gluten free cigars might be an option but I doubt that would be easy. If all you need to do is avoid touching the cigar with your lips then you could use a cigar holder. (Here's a link.)

Bakelite Cigar Holder on Amazon.com

But you should be cautious as the smoke that enters your mouth could also contain compounds that may aggravate your symptoms as well.

Good luck.

kuzi16

Bob Luken:

But you should be cautious as the smoke that enters your mouth could also contain compounds that may aggravate your symptoms as well.

Good luck.

not after combustion. its not a glutenous material once it is on fire.

my father has celiacs as well. he was diagnosed 15 years ago.

he smokes cigars without a holder all the time.

i know everyone reacts a bit differently so this may or may not be an issue but here are a few thoughts:

1) what were you smoking that set of the symptoms? infused? flavored?
those may have gluten

2) What brand was it? some dont use gluten in their pectin. most pectin is made from veggies because wheat and grains do not contain the structures that create the "stick" or actual pectin they need to hold a cigar together.

3) what did you eat before you smoked? Many people eat before a cigar so they dont puke. if you were just diagnosed then there is a chance you have not discovered all of the hidden gluten out there. it took my father a good year or so before he had weeks without symptoms. some products seem like they are gluten free but are not.

4) how strong was the cigar? i dont know what your specific symptoms for celiacs are but is there a chance that those symptoms are similar to the symptoms of a healthy dose of nicotine?

5) how sensitive are you to gluten? some people can get away with eating small amounts without a problem and some people (like my father) have to leave the house when my mom makes cookies because hte gluten in the air will mess with him.


its because of point 5 that i believe it is an outside source of gluten. my dad smokes cigars all the time. never once has he mentioned an issue.

webmost

The answer is pretty simple: roll your own. The product is not so attractive as the store bought, but it's easy enough to do. I don't know what's in gum arabic; but you might try that. Or you can roll without any glue, just sticking the end down with spit, and smoke right away before it unravels. Try the fairtradetobacco forum. WholeLeafTobaccoLLC.com sells just as good a leaf as you will find anywhere.

gh0st

Romeo Y Julieta 1875 Petit Julieta

3)
just had my typical coffee with cigarillo in the morning. Unless the coffee had some sort of contamination I don't see where I could have come into contact with gluten.

4)
it affected me into the next day, so I don't think it was nicotine based. It truly had the celiac mind haze association to it.

5)
I'm still not certain. I don't think I am too sensitive but I can't eat wheat based products without being affected (have yet to see if minimal amounts effect me).

gh0st

webmost:

The answer is pretty simple: roll your own. The product is not so attractive as the store bought, but it's easy enough to do. I don't know what's in gum arabic; but you might try that. Or you can roll without any glue, just sticking the end down with spit, and smoke right away before it unravels. Try the fairtradetobacco forum. WholeLeafTobaccoLLC.com sells just as good a leaf as you will find anywhere.

That's true I just was never the rolling type. If it comes down to it so be it. I thought rolling cigarillos required a certain skill to roll properly. Thanks for the help