FILTRONA LAUNCHES EASY TO USE MENTHOL FILTER TIPS FOR RYO MARKET

09/08/2011

Filtrona Filter Products has launched a new, easy-to-use menthol filter tip for the growing Roll Your Own (RYO) market called Diamond Menthol. The new filter is available in the popular Pop-a-Tip™ format and is unique to the market thanks to its use of Non-Wrapped Acetate (NWA) which prevents the filters from slipping when being rolled into a cigarette.

In countries where the price of cigarettes and tobacco continues to rise, more and more consumers are building their own cigarettes as a cheaper alternative. The market for RYO filters is therefore also growing with up to 50% of RYO consumers using filters in countries like the UK. The flavoured filters available for RYO cigarettes have historically been awkward to use due to having a smooth outer surface which can make them slip out during rolling. To address this issue, Filtrona has developed a menthol RYO filter which uses NWA to provide a non-slip outer surface. Chris Franklin, Innovation and New Business Development Director, explains what makes the new Diamond Menthol filter unique: "Until recently, it was not possible to add menthol flavouring to an NWA filter as the steaming process used to set the plasticizer would effectively wash away any flavour. Filtrona has now addressed this issue by developing an innovative, patent-pending flavour application process that is not affected by steam setting. This means it is now possible to have a flavoured RYO filter with the ease-of-use benefits that are associated with NWA."

As well as the use of NWA, the new Diamond Menthol filter is easier to use as it is available in the handy Pop-a-Tip format which provides convenient storage and protection of the filter tips due to the protective film they are wrapped in. The Diamond Menthol filter can be placed at the mouth-end of a hand-rolled cigarette to provide the flavour and filtration characteristics more commonly associated with ready-made cigarettes. The tips can also be placed inside the tobacco pouch to flavour the tobacco itself. For more information, please visit www.filtronafilters.com/diamond. Enditem