# Cigarette/cigar prop



## EustaceM (Aug 21, 2011)

My director is placing me in finding cigarette and cigar props for a show set in 1900s that he wrote. Where should I look for those that look real and can produce "smoke" to make it look realistic? I thought about using those fake kid candies that look exactly like a cigarette or those at a joke shop. Any ideas for a convincing one? Hopefully one that can produce "smoke".


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## erichart (Aug 21, 2011)

For the "super-cheap" version, you can get "Puff Cigarettes" at magic shops and Halloween stores. Amazon sells them too: Amazon.com: puff cigarettes
These basically have a red foil end which will catch whatever light is in the room and reflect it so it appears "lit". Like the kid candies, they also have powder inside which the smoker can blow out to make it appear like cigarette smoke. Depending on how the scene is staged, the lighting, and what you need it to look like, these can occasionally be convincing.
A more expensive solution is e-cigarettes. When inhaled, an LED lights the end up to make it glow red. The actor inhales what is essentially water vapor, so unlike the joke cigarettes, one can actually pull in the "smoke" and exhale out of one's mouth. Also, unlike the joke cigarettes, the end will appear to glow on a darker stage (because they do not need light to reflect). They are also only convincing under certain circumstances, but when used correctly, they work really well. You're looking at about a dollar each for the Puff Cigarettes, and about $70 for an e-cigarette, though an e-cigarette is refillable and rechargable.
Those are the only two versions I've ever run across in New York theatres where one cannot use herbal cigarettes or real tobacco. Good luck!


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## JBrennan (Aug 26, 2011)

This is going to be a lot longer of an answer than I am sure you were looking for but I happen to have been working on this issue at my work place for year or so now. The short answer for us is E-Cigarettes. They are worth the price, look real, and are arguably the least harmful. However, E-Cigs are not regulated in the USA, not manufactured in the USA, and very little research has been done on the chemicals they use. They could very well be as harmful as a normal cigarette, but simply put not enough research has been done. 

You may also need to look at the laws of your state, county, and city. If they have an indoor smoking ban, or a public smoking ban, you may be in trouble with the E-Cigs or anything not fake/candy. More on that below....

I work at a community college about an hour north of Chicago. I ran into this problem here and by ran into, I mean was the only ones who cared enough to look into the law during a recent production of _The Glass Menagerie_ where the director wanted Tom to smoke. 

As for the Illinois state law, There is no smoking of any kind allowed inside a public building. The law states, "Smoke" or "smoking" means the carrying, smoking, burning, inhaling, or exhaling of any kind of *lighted* pipe, cigar,cigarette, hookah, weed, herbs, or any other *lighted* smoking equipment." This includes hookahs, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, cloves, etc. etc. It also specifically defines "indoor theaters" as public spaces. So nuts to them!

We bought two of the electronic cigarettes with some flavor I can't remember but with cartridges that do not have nicotine or a tobacco flavor. ( It has come to my attention that without sending it to a lab, there is no real way to verify this.) They look real enough to me and you still get that puff of smoke out of the actor's mouth which is nice. No one has complained so far but I imagine it will happen one of these days. I do not consider these "lighted" smoking equipment as they are battery powered.

I took the time to write to the Illinois Arts Council after some research online and asked what they were doing to gain an exception for theaters in Illinois. I got a very quick response from the director saying that he had forwarded my E-mail on to another group representing the LOTR theaters in Chicago and that they were working on the issue with the state legislature. I've yet to hear anything else but I appreciated the reply none the less.

I know this was an issue for Jersey Boys when it toured in the city but I don't know how it was resolved. My recollection is that one night was canceled and after they failed to get a waiver they cut it from the show. Don't quote me on that however.

As for my personal take on this overly long reply to a simple question, I say smoke em if you got them and take on the lawsuit/fine if it ever comes. I understand not using actual tobacco products on stage, but it is completely ridiculous not to take the performing arts into consideration when drafting laws like this. To ban smoking from a play would be to change the nature of what the author intended in his or her script.

And lastly, if you are on a school campus, you may be in violation of the school being a Tobacco/Smoke free campus. This is an issue at where I work now and I am working with committees to have some sort of language that does not prohibit the theater department from merely portraying smoking on stage with some device that contains no nicotine/tobacco.


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## shiben (Aug 27, 2011)

JBrennan said:


> This is going to be a lot longer of an answer than I am sure you were looking for but I happen to have been working on this issue at my work place for year or so now. The short answer for us is E-Cigarettes. They are worth the price, look real, and are arguably the least harmful. However, E-Cigs are not regulated in the USA, not manufactured in the USA, and very little research has been done on the chemicals they use. They could very well be as harmful as a normal cigarette, but simply put not enough research has been done.
> 
> You may also need to look at the laws of your state, county, and city. If they have an indoor smoking ban, or a public smoking ban, you may be in trouble with the E-Cigs or anything not fake/candy. More on that below....
> 
> ...


 
I happen to agree with you on the smoke em if you got em idea, but I have run into multiple actors who cant inhale. In these situations, an E-cig is your best bet. Why inhaling cherry flavored water vapor is somehow better, I dont know, but they like it. One thing to keep in mind is that every time someone smokes onstage, unless they already smoke, you will probably need to teach them how to do it right. This is why I recommend actors getting some herbals and at least smoking a few of them with others who smoke normal cigarettes. For whatever reason, a lot of actors tend to hold cigarettes like joints, or forget that the end on there is on fire in real life (so poking your buddy with it is a bad idea). Had an actress recently who refused to smoke with the technicians before the show (even just watch us, see how its done), and the E-cig she was using ended up making her look silly. It was clear she was not inhaling, or smoking in any way shape or form, and if she was it was not tobacco, but rather an illegal green herb. I say do it right and use an herbal or real cigarette or dont do it. Otherwise it looks silly.


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