Storing cartons and pouches so they do not go stale

Tobacco does not spoil, it dries, and a dried cigarette burns hot and tastes of paper. Pouches are worse: an open can is flat within days.

Cartons

Leave the cellophane on until you open the carton. Store sealed cartons in a cupboard away from a radiator at ordinary room humidity; a kitchen drawer above a hob is the worst place in a house. A sealed carton is good for months this way.

Open packs and pouches

An open pack goes into a tin or a zip bag the same day. Pouches stay in the closed can; a can lasts about a fortnight once opened before the portions stiffen.

Do not refrigerate

A fridge is cold and wet. Cartons pulled in and out condense moisture on every cycle, which is how tobacco gets mouldy. Freezing is for long-term whole-leaf storage, not retail cartons.

Bulk

Stack cartons flat, not on a corner, and keep the stack shallow. Fifty-five to sixty-five percent relative humidity is the trade target; without a hygrometer, a cupboard in a heated room is close enough.