Light up the Organic Way

The label ‘Organic’ on edibles has over the years found many takers, each more pious than the previous. While their nutritional merits mayn’t always be proportional to their inflated price-tags, the consumer of such products often wears his lifestyle choice as a fashion statement. These factors played on the mind of 23-year-old Gaurav Chhabra, a New Delhi-based commerce graduate, when he was unwinding with his cousins last year over a few cigarettes. In the following months, Gaurav and his two cousins Nitin and Piyush Chhabra began experimenting with various combinations to produce nicotine-free, organic cigarettes. They took to ayurveda for answers and hit upon the idea of using basil leaves and green tea as basic ingredients.

“Our research told us that smoking tulsi is good for the body. Green tea, too, has its own medicinal value as it helps reduce stress,” says Gaurav. The inventors were their own guinea pigs. “While trying out various combinations for the right formula, we used to test by smoking it for 7-8 days continuously,” he adds. After eight months of product testing, they hit upon a good combination that also received favourable reviews from friends and relatives. The final product is Organic Smokes, a pack of 10 hand- made cigarettes that look like little baseball bats and sell for Rs 25.50 per unit.

The cigarettes are not for smokers trying to quit, the founder is categorical. Instead, these green smokes are aimed at people who recognise the “cool factor” of holding a joint between their fingers but want to keep away from the perils of nicotine.

To battle the tar, the Chhabras added a filter to the ultra-thin paper they rolled the product in. The only downside is that it generates twice the smoke as a regular cigarette. This aspect, though, the entrepreneurs hope, could make it more fashionable and work in its favour. “Even girls are loving it, ” says an excited Gaurav.

basil leavescigarettesgreen teahealth-conscioussmokers