Brief History of The Rolling Paper
There is nothing quite like kicking back after a long day with your favorite brand of papers and rolling up a fresh one. If you vape and smoke, just smoke, and regardless of the content you roll up, everyone has a favorite brand of papers, wraps, cones, cigars, or cigarillos they prefer.
Rolling papers are the oldest form of smoking tobacco, hemp, and cannabis; some form is believed to have been around since at least the 1500s after Christopher Columbus brought the first bushel of tobacco back from the new world.
The history gets a little murky at this point with the claim that the first commercially sold brand of cigarette paper originated in Alcoy, Spain, in 1764 by a company called Pay-Pay, yet that company was formed in 1703.
However, the company, now known as Rizla, claims its roots from 1532. When Pierre Lacroix traded rolling papers for champagne, supposedly, the receipt for this transaction still exists. In 1660, the claim is that Pierre perfected the rolling paper.
In 1736, officially known as the Lacroix Rolling Paper Company at the time, the new head of the company François Lacroix purchased their first paper mill. In 1796 Napoleon issued the Lacroix family a license to produce papers for his military troops. In 1886 with the introduction of rice paper and its overwhelming and immediate success, the company’s name was changed to RizLa+. (“Riz” the French word for rice, and “La+” is an abbreviation of Lacroix) In 1942 Rizla acquired a patent for applying gum along the edge of rolling papers. Rizla. (2022, May 6). In Wikipedia.
Fast forward to the present day, and there are 100s of rolling paper brands making different types of papers with different materials. In addition, some have added flavors and other features to make rolling more enjoyable.
We put together a quick summary of the most popular brands and their offerings here.
