How long can a box of unopened cigarettes be kept?

Leave it unopened in the refrigerator for no more than two years, and then the taste will be greatly reduced.

But it's going to burn anyway. It's toxic anyway. It is estimated that there is no harm, as long as it is not moldy!

Why do cigarettes have no shelf life?

Why don't suspense cigarettes in the hearts of 300 million smokers have a shelf life?

survey

At one time, dozens of "smokers" from all over Shanxi Province called reporters and asked, "Why don't cigarettes have a production date and a shelf life? Who can solve this problem? " Journalists who have been smoking for more than ten years have rummaged through hundreds of kinds of cigarette cases collected by friends at home and abroad, and found that there is no date of production and shelf life. The reporter had to consult tobacco experts with the same question.

Cigarettes: there is a "date of birth" but no "life limit"

"Cigarettes have a production date, but they don't look good." According to a senior technician of Taiyuan Cigarette Factory, when regular cigarettes leave the factory, the specific production date will be clearly marked on the big packaging box and product certificate. However, on every cigarette and box, most manufacturers have not clearly marked it. Some cigarette manufacturers may have some invisible spray printing numbers on the outer packaging of cigarette cases, mainly the manufacturer's anti-counterfeiting password; Some manufacturers will stamp steel seals on cigarette cases, and these steel seals will have some production date information, including production month, production machine number, batch number and so on. These labels have different forms and obscure expressions, and their meanings are beyond the ordinary people's comprehension. The national tobacco authorities have no uniform regulations in this regard. It can be said that manufacturers, operators and quality supervision and monitoring professionals in all aspects of the tobacco industry generally know the specific production date of cigarettes, but only smokers as consumers cannot know. Commodities used for consumption generally have a shelf life, and cigarettes are no exception, but the fact is that at present, no brand of cigarettes in China will indicate the shelf life, and cigarettes in many foreign countries do not indicate the shelf life.

Why do cigarettes have no shelf life?

There are two ways for cigarette manufacturers to reply without labeling the shelf life.

The statement about the date of cigarette production is "no need to indicate". The manufacturer said: the general products can be sold within half a year, and the production date has been marked on each box when the products leave the factory. Dealers believe that most cigarettes are now in and out, and there will be no long-term backlog. They also know the production date of each cigarette, but the reporter asked some tobacco dealers in Taiyuan whether they would tell consumers the production date of cigarettes. They replied that some people would ask about the authenticity of cigarettes, but few people wanted to know the date of production.

The saying about the shelf life of cigarettes is "the situation is complicated and there is no standard" or "the labeling is meaningless". The reporter visited several cigarette production enterprises. The technicians of these enterprises generally believe that cigarettes are a very complicated product, and there are many processes from the purchase of tobacco leaves to the manufacture of finished cigarettes. Due to different storage environments, the shelf life varies greatly. It can be stored in a dry environment for two or three years, but it cannot be stored in a bad environment 1 year. In the south and north of China, the same brand may have different shelf life. For example, in a place with high temperature and humidity, after only one summer, the dry smoke will be alcoholized and absorb enough water, and it will easily become moldy when it changes; In dry and cold areas, the shelf life of cigarettes can be as long as several years. The differences caused by these factors are generally not obvious. The person in charge of the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau once explained to the media: As far as cigarettes are concerned, although they are classified as food at home and abroad, they are obviously different from ordinary foods. It is not directly imported and must be consumed by burning tobacco. Based on this particularity, any brand of cigarettes, not only in China, but also internationally, does not indicate the shelf life. The harm of cigarettes to health is not determined by time. Its harmfulness has been clearly written on the box. It exists regardless of time, so it is meaningless to mark the shelf life.

The legal profession questioned the practice of the tobacco industry.

It seems to be the practice in this special industry that cigarettes are not marked with shelf life and production date.

Lawyer Ma of Shanxi Hengshuai Law Firm believes that legally speaking, any product should have a shelf life, because it is purposefully processed by human beings to meet specific needs. When any product meets some human needs, there is a time limit for its effectiveness to last and play. With the expiration of this time limit, the effectiveness will be attenuated or lost, but the length of time is different.

Lawyer Ma cited the existing laws in China to prove his point. Article 1 of the Tobacco Monopoly Law clearly stipulates "improving the quality of tobacco products and safeguarding the interests of consumers". Paragraph 2 of Article 15 of the Product Quality Law stipulates that "the product name, manufacturer name and address shall be marked in Chinese"; The fourth paragraph stipulates that "products with restricted use shall be marked with the production date, safe use period or expiration date". Article 8 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests stipulates: "Consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods they buy or use or the services they receive. Consumers have the right to ask business operators to provide relevant information such as price, place of origin, main ingredients, production date, expiration date, instruction manual and so on according to different conditions of goods or services. " Article 18 clearly stipulates: "if an operator finds that the goods or services provided by him are seriously defective, even if he uses the goods or accepts the services correctly, it may still cause harm to personal and property safety, he shall immediately report to the relevant administrative department and inform consumers, and take measures to prevent the occurrence of harm." Article 2 1 of the Food Hygiene Law stipulates: product name, place of origin, name of manufacturer, production date, main ingredients, shelf life, eating or using method, etc. It must be indicated on the packaging label or product manual according to different products. Moreover, the food sold in the domestic market must have a Chinese logo.

"When the cigarettes in the cigarette factory are put into storage, what is the inventory environment, how long has the inventory been kept, and has it deteriorated? For these problems, consumers are neither experts nor informed, and the information of buyers and sellers is in a serious asymmetric state. " Professor Zhao Liming from the Law School of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics believes that although the Tobacco Monopoly Law does not require cigarette manufacturers to indicate the production date and shelf life on the outer packaging of cigarettes they produce, the law cannot exempt tobacco manufacturers from the responsibility and obligation for product quality. According to the Product Quality Law, the Food Hygiene Law and the Consumer Protection Law, cigarette manufacturers should indicate the production date and shelf life on their cigarette packaging.

In fact, in front of the tobacco industry, challengers have long existed. On the morning of August 6th, 2002, Liu Hesheng, a lawyer from Anhui Zheng Gang Law Firm, bought a cigarette made in Anhui in Hefei. Liu Hesheng's lawyer pointed out that the date of manufacture, shelf life and address were not indicated on the outer packaging of cigarettes, which obviously violated the relevant provisions of the Product Quality Law, the Food Hygiene Law and the Consumer Protection Law. Therefore, Liu Hesheng filed a complaint against the cigarette factory and the shopping mall that sold cigarettes to it, requesting the court to award the two defendants compensation of RMB 1 yuan, transportation expenses and lost time in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. In the end, this "one-dollar lawsuit" lost in the second instance. Lawyer Liu Hesheng insists that in the modern market economy environment, there should not be a situation where the four major laws can't control a pack of cigarettes.

■ Expert advice

What's wrong with changing the rules

It is actually a reasonable basic requirement for consumers to require cigarettes to indicate the date of production and shelf life. Judging from the spirit of the rule of law in the modern market and the awakening of consumer consciousness, this is also a signal that the market is maturing. There are at least three obvious advantages: first, the quality of cigarettes is obviously improved, and the long-term accumulated raw cigarettes and finished cigarettes are regularly taken away from warehouses and shelves to form a product inventory process, which can also avoid hoarding by operators; Second, it is conducive to the health and consumption of consumers, so that consumers can clearly understand smoking, spend money to smoke good cigarettes and new cigarettes, and avoid the "double harm" of smoking expired and deteriorated cigarettes. Third, a realistic fence can be added to prevent counterfeit and shoddy cigarettes.

Food experts also suggest that two schemes can be adopted: one is to directly indicate the production date and shelf life of cigarettes, and through experiments, the general names of the north and the south can be indicated respectively. The second is indirect labeling. At least the following words should be marked on the cigarette case: "This product tastes best before a certain day of a certain year." At the same time, general suggestions on the temperature and humidity of cigarette storage are put forward. (Contributed by Xinhua News Agency Shanxi Branch)

■ Related links

How to keep cigarettes for a long time?

If an individual has a small amount of cigarettes, don't smoke for the time being, and it is best not to open the package. If you want to keep it at home, just put it in the refrigerator. Generally, it is best not to store cigarettes for more than two years, otherwise, even if the cigarettes are not moldy and deteriorated, the taste will change and the quality will be greatly reduced.