Sección: IV PREPARED FOODSTUFFS; BEVERAGES, SPIRITS AND VINEGAR; TOBACCO AND MANUFACTURED TOBACCO SUBSTITUTES
Capítulo: 24 Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes
Chapter 24


Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes

Note.

1.- This Chapter does not cover medicinal cigarettes (Chapter 30).


GENERAL
Tobacco is obtained from various cultivated varieties of the genus Nicotiana of the Solanaceae family. The size and shape of the leaves differ from one variety to another.

The harvesting method and curing process depend on the variety (type) of tobacco. The plant may be cut whole, at average maturity (stalk cutting), or the leaves may be picked separately, according to their state of maturity (priming). Thus, tobacco may be cured either as whole plants (on the stalk) or as separate leaves.

The various methods of curing are sun curing (in the open air), air curing (in closed sheds with free circulation of air), flue curing (in hot air flues), or fire curing (with open fires).

Before packing for shipment, the dried leaves are treated in order to ensure their preservation. This may be done by controlled natural fermentation (Java, Sumatra, Havana, Brazil, Orient, etc.) or by artificial re-drying. This treatment, and the curing, affect the flavour and aroma of tobacco, which undergoes spontaneous ageing after packing.

Tobacco so treated is packed in bundles, bales (of various shapes), in hogsheads or in crates. When so packed, the leaves are either aligned (Orient) or tied in hands (several leaves tied together with a band or with another tobacco leaf), or simply left as loose leaves. They are always tightly compressed in order to ensure preservation.

In some cases, in addition to (or instead of) fermentation, flavouring or moistening substances are added (casing) in order to improve the aroma or keeping qualities.

This Chapter covers not only unmanufactured and manufactured tobacco but also manufactured tobacco substitutes which do not contain tobacco.

Subheading Note.

1.- For the purposes of subheading 2403.11, the expression “water pipe tobacco” means tobacco intended for smoking in a water pipe and which consists of a mixture of tobacco and glycerol, whether or not containing aromatic oils and extracts, molasses or sugar, and whether or not flavoured with fruit. However, tobacco-free products intended for smoking in a water pipe are excluded from this subheading.

24.01 Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse.


This heading covers:

(1) Unmanufactured tobacco in the form of whole plants or leaves in the natural state or as cured or fermented leaves, whole or stemmed/stripped, trimmed or untrimmed, broken or cut (including pieces cut to shape, but not tobacco ready for smoking).

Tobacco leaves, blended, stemmed/stripped and “cased” (“sauced” or “liquored”) with a liquid of appropriate composition mainly in order to prevent mould and drying and also to preserve the flavour are also covered in this heading.

(2) Tobacco refuse, e.g., waste resulting from the manipulation of tobacco leaves, or from the manufacture of tobacco products (stalks, stems, midribs, trimmings, dust, etc.).

24.02 Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes.
This heading is restricted to cigars (wrapped or not), cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, made of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes. Other smoking tobacco, whether or not containing tobacco substitutes in any proportion, is excluded (heading 24.03).

This heading covers:

(1) Cigars, cheroots and cigarillos, containing tobacco.

Such products may be made wholly of tobacco or of mixtures of tobacco and tobacco substitutes, regardless of the proportions of tobacco and tobacco substitutes present in the mixture.

(2) Cigarettes containing tobacco.

Apart from cigarettes containing only tobacco, this heading also includes those made from mixtures of tobacco and tobacco substitutes, regardless of the proportions of tobacco and tobacco substitutes in the mixture.

(3) Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes of tobacco substitutes, for example, “cigarettes” (“smokes”) made from specially processed leaves of a variety of lettuce, containing neither tobacco nor nicotine.

The heading does not cover medicinal cigarettes (Chapter 30). However, cigarettes containing certain types of products specifically formulated to discourage the habit of smoking but which do not possess medicinal properties remain classified in this heading.

24.03 Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; “homogenised” or “reconstituted” tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences.
This heading covers:

(1) Smoking tobacco, whether or not containing tobacco substitutes in any proportion, for example, manufactured tobacco for use in pipes or for making cigarettes.

(2) Chewing tobacco, usually highly fermented and liquored.

(3) Snuff, more or less flavoured.

(4) Tobacco compressed or liquored for making snuff.

(5) Manufactured tobacco substitutes, for example, smoking mixtures not containing tobacco. However, products such as cannabis are excluded (heading 12.11).

(6) “Homogenised” or “reconstituted” tobacco made by agglomerating finely divided tobacco from tobacco leaves, tobacco refuse or dust, whether or not on a backing (e.g., sheet of cellulose from tobacco stems), generally put up in the form of rectangular sheets or strip. It can be either used in the sheet form (as a wrapper) or shredded/chopped (as a filler).

(7) Tobacco extracts and essences. These are liquids extracted from moist leaves by pressure, or prepared by boiling waste tobacco in water. They are used mainly for the manufacture of insecticides and parasiticides.

The heading does not cover:

(a) Nicotine (the alkaloid extracted from tobacco) (heading 29.39).

(b) Insecticides of heading 38.08.
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Subheading Explanatory Note.

Subheading 2403.11

This subheading covers, inter alia, products consisting of a mixture of tobacco, molasses or sugar, flavoured with fruit, glycerol, aromatic oils and extracts (e.g., "Meassel" or "Massel"). It also covers products not containing molasses or sugar (e.g., "Tumbak" or "Ajami"). However, the subheading excludes tobacco-free products for water pipes (e.g., "Jurak") (subheading 2403.99).

A water pipe is also known by other names such as "narguile", "argila", "boury", "gouza", "hookah", "shisha" or "hubble-bubble".

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