Why Improve Cigarette Paper?
Instead of cellulose derived from flax, Rand’s wrapper uses methylcellulose, a chemically processed, derivative. Methylcellulose is not fibrous; it swells into a soft gel when wet, and this property makes it a useful ingredient of some bulk-forming laxatives and of appetite suppressors that fill the stomach without calories. Chalk is incorporated with the methylcellulose; so far, Rand’s experimental wrapper sounds pretty much like regular cigarette paper. However, other substances have to be added to the methylcellulose wrapper to keep it from going to pieces when wet, to overcome brittleness, control burning speed, etc. These are challenges that an inventor like Rand tackles with enthusiasm. Why should anybody fuss around trying to improve ordinary cigarette paper that has satisfied millions of smokers for many years? Well, if you can prove that regular cigarette paper causes cancer, and that some fabulously purified paper of your own cannot cause cancer, most of your future troubles-
