I know that this may sound weird, but does anyone know if Cigarettes are gluten-free. I dont smoke or anything but my boyfriends parents do and anytime I go over his house I start to feel really sick and I dont know if it is becaue they are not gluten-free or if it is just because I am not used to it.
Thanks
Amanda

My boss smokes... I have never had a gluten reaction to it. It makes me ill sometimes, but that is totally not gluten related!! I would guess that they are not 100% gluten-free with their cooking methods, etc.

Some people are just sensitive to smoke. I know when I am around a lot of smoke I get coughing attacks and burning eyes but it is not a gluten related reaction. I've never actually checked to see if they are in fact gluten free because my family doesn't smoke and neither do I...I would guess they are but I'm not sure.

thank you so much. def. a big help. but i really do wonder if there is an answer to that. that is they really are gluten-free?

I remember reading that some are and some aren't...I can't tell you which ones cause I've never smoked and nobody in my family does. I sometimes get nauseous from cigarette smoke when I'm around it for any length of time, but it's not celiac-related.

I did a search for threads on it:

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?s...t=0&#entry25236

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?s...st=0&#entry4784

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.php?s...st=0&#entry7109

I just e-mailed Philip Morris, so we will find out! Never thought about it before.
I don't smoke ~ nor does anyone in my family or extended family. BUT, I am around it every day at work. Hmmm...

Hmm...it'll be interesting to read their reply......I don't think anyone mentions calling or e-mailing a company about cigarettes in any of the threads I posted.

Another thing, though--some people work in bakeries (not gluten-free) and are okay from inhaling it, so even if they aren't gluten-free, try not to be too concerned--I guess it could cause a reaction, but inhaling gluten doesn't necessarily, the way eating it would.

I've always wondered about inhaling gluten and if that causes reactions. I mean you hear things about people with severe peanut butter allergies where if someone even opens a jar of peanut butter and they smell it then they get a reaction so I'm not sure how the whole inhaling thing works with celiac. I know that some people work at bakeries with no problem but I imagine some people do react to inhaling it but I'm not sure. Interesting topic here I'm interested to know what the company will say too.

With celiac, though, the gluten has to get to your small intestine to cause a reaction...if you baked with wheat flour often and inhaled a lot of it, or crumbs of gluten-containing bread or something that got digested, then it would cause a reaction. Otherwise, it wouldn't--which is why it doesn't matter if you touch (unless you have dh) or smell gluten

I know smelling gluten wouldnt cause a reaction unless it got into your system. I know I have a friend who had to quit her job working at a bakery because the flour she was working with was causing her a reaction(she has dh). I think alot of people who work around that stuff wear masks which would probably help to prevent the flour from getting into their systems.

Some Celiacs can be very sensitive topically. My aunt can have reactions from getting crumbs under her feet or just touching bread. However; a lot of people don't react from simply touching gluten items but it can be absorbed through the skin.

Right--that would be dh (dermatitis herpetiformis), which I mentioned in my last post:

Gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin. It is physically impossible. Crumbs on your feet or hands might cause some sort of allergic reaction but the gluten molecules are just flat out too large to move through your skin's protective barrier. And, no, medication patches are not proof that we can absorb gluten. Those patches and medications are specifically engineered so that we can absorb them.

People who get a reaction from smelling something like peanut butter are having an allergic reaction, not an autoimmune one. However, if you worked somewhere like a bakery and flour you breathed in coated your throat and you swallowed, gluten could definitely get in that way. It would be no different than accidentally swallowing a little shampoo.

richard

Thanks so much everybody! I dont feel so alone out there anymore. I love this forum

Richard, your reply confuses me. I know I don't react topically but I know my aunt does react from stepping on crumbs and has to wear gloves while working with gluten. Can you explain to me why that would be an allergic reaction instead of auto-immune? And as for as arguing for a topical reaction, couldn't gluten get into your system through your nose, mouth, eyes or cuts? It would seem logically possible to me.

Auto immune is when your body attacks itself, and you will never be able to cure it, but with an allergic reaction, you can reverse the affects of it. like my little sister has a peanut allergy and if she steps on the peanuts she reacts to them, but if I were to step on bread or touch bread I dont get an allergic reaction, but if I were to eat them, my body would start attacking itself. Hope that helped

Amanda

Also, if it gets in your mouth or into your body through your nose, it's no longer topical. You breathe it in or it gets in your mouth, it gets swallowed with other food or your saliva, and it gets through your digestive system to the small intestine......and the reaction takes place. It won't have a reaction on the skin, though, unless you have Dermatitis Herpetiformis (which is associated with celiac disease) or have an allergic reaction to it, which is different because for celiac, the problematic substance has to get to your small intestine, whereas with an allergy, you can have a reaction if it touches your skin, gets into your mouth, or anything--it doesn't need to reach any specific location as with gluten in celiac disease.

I react to gluten on my skin, I don't have DH, and I technically don't have Celiac. I had a skin test for wheat which was neg and also the IGE test was neg. If my shampoo has wheat then my scalp itches.If I use makeup that contains gluten then my eyes get red, gritty and brain fog occurs. I know gluten molecules are to large to be absorbed but these reactions occur immediately they don't get near my mouth. I think there is something else going on here and we don't have all the answers. I try to avoid gluten in any form internal or external.

i have always been allergic to smoke--well, i suppose i have always been gluten intolerant too, i was sick for yrs and yrs, but i knew i was allergic to smoke---my eyes swell, my nose starts running and then my eyes, and i get a terrible headache--no one smokes around me, was never allowed to smoke in my house--i have 5 kids and only 1 smoked and has quit and 1 daughter in law smokes, but never around any of us--always outside----deb

Hi Deb,

I can so relate. I hate smoke. My husband stopped smoking for me. And when I was a little kid I always had problems with smelling some parfumes, too. I remember my mother always put one on and I felt gaggy afterwards. Somebody once told me, that cigarettes can be parfumed and it's the same reaction as to the actual parfume. I don't know. Either way, I can't have some parfumes and I'm allergic to smoke, too.

Hugs, Stef

I think that inhaling gluten can cause you to have a reaction. I know that when I inhale flour I get a sore throat. I read somewhere that you have villi in the back of your throat and villi is what reacts to gluten.

ErraticBinxie-this is from Coulter's post previousy

ErraticBinxie-The villi is in your small intestine and that helps put nutrients into your bloos stream and that it what is damaged.

Kimberly,
Did Philip Morris ever respond?

Nope...not in the back of your throat. Only in the intestines. And like Kaiti quoted, theoretically, gluten wouldn't cause damage if it got in your nose or mouth...it's just that if it gets in your mouth, it's nearly inevitable that some will get down your throat, through stomach, etc. until reaching the small intestines and causing damage.

I've posted the cigarette question a few times on here and never found a response, and I'm still really curious about it, so if anyone does hear from the cig companies please do post. Truthfully I've always been curious about that "other" kind of "smoke", too...but since it ain't legal I won't ask!

lol Gillian, does it have to be legal to ask?
Nope, I don't smoke it! However, it is grown in this province more than anywhere else, and you can't really grow up here without seeing it sometime.
I'm pretty sure the Canibus (sp), Hemp, pot, or whatever else one wants to call it, doesn't in itself have gluten. I really don't think they mix it with anything, so it would likely be gluten free.

It sometimes gets mixed with other stuff but it ain't gluten.

Lol, I am so pleased that someone had the courage to answer that question! ha! I was always curious about that! I wouldn't think it had gluten in it either but always thought it might, and couldn't be sure!

It never hurts to ask! Beverly

I was wondering the same thing, that is how I found this forum. I also found another site that you may want to look at. It should help to answer your question.

http://www.feingold.org/enews/06-2005.html

"For those who must avoid gluten, you should be aware that cigarettes may contain WHEAT extract and FLOUR. "

check out this site. when you get to the list of ingredients it is easier to do a ctrl + F and type in wheat and then do rye.

and if I am correct then these contain gluten and if cigs contain these extracts then cigs would contain gluten as well, right?

Hi Gillian,
I have to say that I love your name. My daughter's name is also Gillian.
Also, I've wondered about the "other" smoke, too, but since I've not had a reaction, it seems fine. As far as Cigarettes, I really don't know. I smoke about a pack a day and have tried to quit many times. The problem is, every time I quit, I get very ill with severe fatigue, weakness, depression and abnormal weight gain.
I read somewhere that cig smoking can mask the symptoms of Hashimoto's disease. I'm hoping to quit again, soon, and be tested for Hashimoto's. But then, my doctor won't do the anti body test for Hashimoto's, so I feel like I'm in a catch 22.
Currently looking for a new doctor...

Marlene

To the question of "other" smoke, if you are referring to marijuana, it is an herb, not a grain, and so the pure stuff would not contain gluten. But unless you grow your own, there may have been other things added somewhere along the supply chain. It is also possible, but not likely, that there could be a gluten source hidden in the rolling paper.

This is, of course, a purely hypothetical discussion, as actually possessing or smoking cannabis would indeed be illegal in most places.

This has been quite the day for me. Peter, you made me chuckle. I LOVE hypothetical discussions.

The hidden gluten in cigarettes and cigarette rolling paper is in the paper and the glue. The tobacco itself and anything else you may choose to place in said rolling papers does not contain gluten (unless you run into flavored tobacco land, in which case all bets are off).
As for those who like to "roll their own". Tops and Job are NOT gluten free. Rizla's are however, and can be purchased in most smoke shops or online. I exclusively use Rizlas now. I have gotten giant gluten belly bloat from using Tops and Job rolling papers, and then I verified what the paper and glue was made out of. Rizla's are a Uk company, but there is no wheat in their paper.
Hope that helps somebody

Oh... and smoking cigarettes can actually mask the symptoms of Celiac, or possibly delay onset. At least two studies have been done related to that.

Hey Guys- I know this thread was active a while ago but it was recently bumped up by a response.

Last night I smoke a rolled cig and 12 hours later I had a bad bad reaction with lots of D cramps gas pain etc. I dont have full blown celiac disease but I do have both of the genes it takes to get Celiac and I have a gluten, wheat, rye and dairy intolerance that causes me to have the same reactions you all do.

About quittting cigs and having an onset of celaic diease: This is true and it is the same case for Ulcerative and microscopic colitis. I stopped smoking about 2 years ago and 3 months later I was sick sick sick with no idea why. I started to smoke again and didnt get back to normal but am now on the diet and am feeling better. At first I thought I had Ulcerative colitis which is a horrible conidition with bleeding ulcers in your large intestine... I never had blood so that made me beleive that I didnt have UC but maybe microscopic colitis or celiac. My grandmother first mentioned celiac to me and I went on a gluten-free diet before I was dx'd with UC and started to feel better in 3 days. I told my GI this and he said to start eating gluten again and he would do a scope and take looksie. That is when he decided I had UC... but all along it has something to do with gluten.

Now about MJ- again this is a hypothetical topic and this is just my opinion- you can verify the facts through your own searches. I will not say whether or not I am against or for MJ but I think I might give myself away here. MJ has many healing and anti inflammatory properties and many people with IBD, IBS, celaic and other stomach ailments (along wth cancer and aids patients) because it helps with the nausea and cramps. It also helps to keep your appitite when you are feeling poorly so you wont lose much weight. But I feel comfortable saying that MJ doesnt have gluten in it. Usually what is added to the MJ is pesticides to keep the bugs from feeling too good - it is the same pesticides that are put on our fruits as well. I bet those are gluten free.

So you can make your own hypothetical conclusions about what you will- that is my 2 cents. I hope it helps someone out.

Thanks for the tip. I bought two packs of Rizla's yesterday: "red", and "green" (both the exact same materials just cut differently). I recently E-mailed Rizla, and Zig-Zag, to inquire about the content of their products, but have not recieved a reply. Most Rizla's are likely made from rice (Riz is French for rice). I have read that the glue on both these brands' papers is made of Arabic gum, which is fine.

There used to be rolling-paper made entirely from wheat-straw, but I haven't seen any in years. Others are made from Hemp, and Flax.