Preservative system for smoke-able shells

Abstract

Smoke-able shells that are sold commercially for use in roll your own cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos may be made from smoke-able material such as leaves and homogenates and humectant. Humectant may be applied to the smoke-able material via spraying and/or addition to adhesive that is used to bond two or more layers of smoke-able materials together to form a smoke-able shell. The resulting smoke-able shells are characterized by reduced mold growth on their surface compared to the same smoke-able shells minus the humectant.

I/We claim: 
     
         1 . A smoke-able shell comprising at least one layer of smoke-able material and a humectant. 
     
     
         2 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 1 , wherein the smoke-able material is selected from tobacco, hemp, herbs and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 1 , wherein the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, sorbitol, salts, salts of organic acids, sugar, sugar alcohols, glycerol, cocoa butter, hydrocarbons, plant oils and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 1 , wherein the smoke-able material is tobacco and the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, propionate and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 4 , further comprising adhesive, wherein the adhesive contains the humectant at from about 2 weight % to about 50 weight % of the adhesive. 
     
     
         6 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 4 , wherein the humectant is applied to the shell in an aqueous composition comprising at least about 2 weight % of the propylene glycol. 
     
     
         7 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 1 , wherein the smoke-able material is hemp and the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, propionate and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 7 , further comprising an adhesive, wherein the adhesive contains the humectant at from about 2 weight % to about 50 weight % of the adhesive. 
     
     
         9 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 7 , wherein the humectant is applied to the shell in an aqueous composition comprising at least about 2 weight % of the propylene glycol. 
     
     
         10 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 1 , wherein the smoke-able material is an herb and the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, propionate and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The smoke-able shell according to  claim 10 , further comprising an adhesive, wherein the adhesive contains the humectant at from about 2 weight % to about 50 weight % of the adhesive. 
     
     
         12 . The smoke-able shell according  claim 10 , wherein the propylene glycol is applied to the shell in an aqueous composition comprising at least about 2 weight % of the humectant. 
     
     
         13 . A method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell comprising applying humectant to the smoke-able shell. 
     
     
         14 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 13 , wherein the humectant is applied to the smoke-able shell via spraying, rolling, dipping, brushing and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 13 , wherein the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, sorbitol, salts, salts of organic acids, sugar, sugar alcohols, glycerol, cocoa butter, hydrocarbons, plant oils and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 13 , wherein the smoke-able shell comprises two or more layers of smoke-able material, the method comprising adhering the two or more layers together with an adhesive containing the humectant. 
     
     
         17 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 16 , wherein the humectant is selected from propylene glycol, sorbitol, salts, salts of organic acids, sugar, sugar alcohols, glycerol, cocoa butter, hydrocarbons, plant oils and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 13 , wherein the smoke-able shell comprises one or more layers of smoke-able material selected from tobacco, hemp, herbs and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method of inhibiting mold growth in a smoke-able shell according to  claim 16 , wherein the humectant is propylene glycol, which is present in the adhesive at from about 2 weight % to about 50 weight % of the adhesive. 
     
     
         20 . A smoke-able article comprising the smoke-able shell of  claim 1 , wherein the smoke-able article is selected from a cigar and a cigarillo.