online supplier was out of my wife's usual roll your own tobacco so i stopped being lazy and joined a smoker's forum, found a different supplier and have a few sample pouches coming. better prices, free shipping too.
apparently easy enough to find good virginia 'pipe' tobacco, unflavored and no chemicals. the guys are smoking a wide range of stuff. any interest will post up some links and the result of the flavor testing.

small caliber joy

After trying this stuff, I don't smoke anything else. Expensive, but a 1.31 oz pouch lasts me about a month.

http://www.ryocigarette.com/balshagblu131.html

I can hardly stand the smell of 'regular' cigs anymore. Good riddance. I used to smoke 1-2 packs a day.

I'd be interested in your links. Always nice to find something better (and hopefully cheaper).

here's what it is mostly. those who have gone off the carton grid have common experience, without the amazing chemical load they throw into commercial tobacco, you smoke less naturally, feel better, cough less and so forth.
first thing when the tax hit ny i got livid, wife's 5.33 oz. tin of american spirit rolling tobacco had started out at about $12. and over the years hit $45. with the tax, now i think it's way higher. lot of cash for the third pound. anyhow they had thrown the extra smoker tax on and things had doubled so i tried a couple of tobaccos from rollyourown.com and the 'kentucky select organic' wound up very acceptable. it's now $103. for 5#.
then the wife is short from the 10# gotten a couple years back so would you please order me more only it's out of stock for a few days, i joined cigreviews.com and spoke to the guys on the forum. one had been a kentucky select smoker and was now smoking OHM which i believe is a regular virginia, anyhow he recommended tobacco general and i have a pound of OHM, and a pound of kentucky natural on order, which may be the same as kentucky organic as there is some problem with the company claiming organic certification. i also have a 6 oz. pouch of some other natural this or that coming for a total of 3 to try so if one or two are good, that's a bonanza.
the OHM for example is $12.50 for one pound, with many good tobaccos $20. per pound, so you can shave your bill down radically from what you are now paying.
will post reviews of how she likes the stuff, and i would be pleased to share some product if you would like to try anything.

small caliber joy

Please do post the results of your testing.

I've been meaning to get my hands on some of the offerings from D&R. Not cheap, but their producs get very good reviews.

couple of the no chemical/no flavoring recommendations were

peter stokkebye virginia
d & r windsail platinum

believe the 'platinum' is specifically touted as being tobacco only. d/r 3 sails is supposed to be good also and is lightly flavored. i guess it's about $25/pound, more than i've been paying. still put things in perspective, the pound is 3 tobacco tins, iirc lasted the wife about 3 weeks apiece, something then like the pound being good for a couple months, very roughly, for an active smoker, and your usage seems way under that. i'm sick thinking about people who pay the ten for a pack. my daughter's old boyfriend is steaming along with his beers and a pack of american spirits every day, unemployed too and scratching, fork over the ten. come the freak on. you want the face of who is paying for the party, it's him. they pretend otherwise but it seems to be the poor stupid bastard who is carrying the load.
like the colored 'help' said in 'gone with the wind', ain't fittin'. they got that right.


small caliber joy

D&R Ryback (supposed to be similar to my Bali Shag), 3 sails and Windsail Platinum. Also the Kentucky Select Organic (but it's out of stock everywhere I looked).

I hear you on the cost of packaged cigs. Doesn't seem to put a dent in how much the guys at work smoke though. With a little work they could RYO, saving ~2/3 the cost and get superior tobacco.

Wish I'd figured it out a lot sooner..

I've smoked since 12yrs old and I'm 38. I always wanted to quit but found it hard. Gum works for me. The wife & I both quit together, her first.

I was one angry SOB that day.
Seemed after that it got a lot easier.

But even almost a year later as I am working on cad
drawings on the computer. When I zoom out to look the
drawing over, I catch myself reaching for one.

I guess the "habit" part is the hardest to break.
I found it did get easier to get my mind on other things.
After a year, my resting heart rate dropped from 85-90 bpm
to 45 bpm.

Made the mistake of accepting a very nice cigar while
taking my turn pulling targets at a high power rifle match.
Bought a pack of smokes on the way home. After about a week
of smoking again, felt pretty foolish and started quitting
over again.
It is true, the more times you quit, the easier it gets.

If something happens and you slip, don't let it end your efforts.

Keep a photo of the one year old handy.

I quit over thirty years ago, so been out of the loop, thankfully. Heard about all of the flavored Camels and now see you can't just let a cigarette smoulder in the ashtray any longer. They have some kind of snuffing strip to make them go out if not puffed. Boy, I'll bet that tastes great. From what I can see, most of the new cigarettes are pretty awful. When Marlborough Lights came out I tried them, being a Marlborough regular smoker. They were so bland I just went back to full strength. (You still get smoke particulates, or half the crap in your lungs, anyway.) I can only imagine what today's cigarettes taste like. Gone are most of the old brands - Chesterfield, Lucky Strikes (who would have thought THAT one would fade away?), Winston, Pall Malls. Joe Camel's been castrated. Was a good time to quit.

Back on topic, I used to roll my own and had (maybe still do somewhere) a Bugler machine. Was in the CVS drugstore not long ago and was amazed to see the old Bugler pack up on the shelf along with a couple of others, one of which was new to me, although it looked old. Bugler was pretty good and so was their mentholated offshoot. I quit rolling after I could afford "tailor-mades", the only loose tobacco I smoked being for a pipe. Still miss the danged pipe on a cold, frosty morning. Was smoking Cavendish tobaccos and straight Latakia at the end. What tickles me are the guys (and gals, sheesh!) who don't smoke but have the occasional multi-dollar stogie. How they can even begin to appreciate one is beyond me. The last time I broke down and smoked a cigar, I couldn't get the smell out of my nose for two days.

Am thinking pipe smoking is more of a psychologic addiction...hard to be angry or in a rush smoking a pipe.

what you think of your choices.

Taste, price etc..

boo