Using an Altoids Tin as a Cigarettes Case

I have yet to find a perfect cigarette case for my 70mm hand rolled smokes. When I first started rolling my own, I used discarded flip top boxes that had previously held commercially produced cigarettes. This works but the boxes tend to deteriorate and need to be replaced. The next solution was a plastic, flip top box, holding eighteen cigarettes. Modestly priced, the plastic box is durable and weather resistant yet it is bulky and, being sized for longer cigarettes, it provides wasted space.

While there are many slim and compact cigarette cases on the market that tastefully provide the elegance of a bygone era, I have been reluctant to purchase one because of size and capacity. Most contemporary cigarette cases are designed to hold king size, filtered cigarettes (many of these also accommodate 100s and 120s) and this provides substantial wasted space for 70mm sticks. While some of these cases hold a full pack of twenty cigarettes, most hold fewer and the most compact cases hold ten or less.

Searching the Internet for a new 70mm cigarette case that would hold at least a full pack of cigarettes (I am reticent to purchase an antique one for daily use), I stumbled across a bulletin board post that suggested using an Altoids tin as a cigarette case. I pondered over it and the put the idea on the back burner until I recently, emptied a tin of Altoids. Recalling the suggestion, I decided to give it a try.

The photo above shows the chunky plastic flip top box next to an empty Altoids tin. Both are filled to capacity with 70mm cigarettes and both suffer from wasted space. Both are approximately the same height and width, yet the Altoids tin is approximately 1/4" thinner (I eyeballed this and did not use a ruler for a precise measurement). Despite the difference in thickness, the Altoids tin holds more cigarettes than the plastic flip top box: twenty-one instead of eighteen.

While not elegant like the cigarette cases of yesteryear, the Altoids tin does provides five benefits. First, it is incognito; unless it is opened, no one would suspect that it was filled with cigarettes. This may prove beneficial in the NAZIesque anti-tobacco climate of today. Second, the thinner profile makes it more pleasant to carry in a pocket than the plastic flip top box. Third, the extra space is somewhat useful as it can hold small items (a pair of earplugs is pictured) without interfering with getting to the cigarettes. Of course, the most substantial benefit is cost. The Altoids tin is free and readily available.