Tobacco Cigarette Inner Packaging Foil

When most people think of cigarette packaging, the first thing that comes to mind is the brightly colored paper box. However, few people realize that the silvery film surrounding the cigarettes—the cigarette aluminum foil—is the "invisible guardian" of cigarette quality. It's not just part of the packaging; it's also a key material for maintaining the cigarette's flavor, protecting it from moisture, and preventing oxidation.

Three Core Applications of Aluminum Foil in Cigarettes

1. Inner Packaging

After opening a cigarette box, the aluminum foil directly covering the cigarettes (commonly called the "inner foil") is its most important application. It directly wraps the 20 cigarettes, acting like a "vacuum layer" in food packaging—isolating them from oxygen and moisture. Furthermore, this foil prevents odors from penetrating.

2. Liner

In addition to the inner foil directly covering the cigarettes, some cigarettes also have an additional layer of aluminum foil (called the "liner foil") applied to the inside of the paper box, providing a "double layer" of protection. The main function of this tobacco cigarette inner packaging foil is to improve the sealing of the paper box. Ordinary paper boxes have tiny pores, allowing trace amounts of air to seep in even after long-term storage. The lining foil fills these pores, further extending the shelf life of the cigarettes. Furthermore, the metallic texture of the aluminum foil enhances the packaging's premium feel, making the cigarettes appear more refined.

3. Extended Special Functions

With the diversification of cigarette packaging, aluminum foil has been given a variety of special functions. For example, some brands print brand logos or anti-counterfeiting patterns on the foil surface, which not only promotes the product but also prevents counterfeiting. Others feature "easy-tear" treatments to facilitate opening and enhance the user experience.

Alloy Selection

Not all aluminum alloys are suitable for cigarette foil. The industry standard is 1235 aluminum alloy. This alloy's popularity in cigarette packaging stems primarily from three key properties:

1. Excellent Ductility

Cigarette aluminum foil requires extremely high thickness, typically rolled into sheets as thin as 0.006-0.008 mm (approximately 1/10 the diameter of a human hair). This requires the aluminum alloy to possess exceptional ductility. 1235 aluminum alloy is a pure aluminum alloy (aluminum content ≥ 99.35%) with extremely low impurities and a uniform crystal structure. Through multiple cold rolling processes, it can easily achieve the required thinness without cracking or breaking.

2. Excellent Formability

Cigarette foil needs to tightly wrap around the cigarette and resist permanent wrinkles during folding and storage, which relies heavily on the alloy's formability. 1235 aluminum alloy possesses a moderate hardness, neither too soft to deform easily nor too hard to conform to the cigarette's contours. This makes it perfectly suited to automated cigarette packaging production processes—even at high speeds, the foil smoothly wraps around the cigarette, maintaining a smooth surface.

3. Stable Chemical Properties

Because the aluminum foil comes into direct contact with tobacco, its chemical properties must be stable to prevent it from reacting with tobacco components and affecting cigarette quality. 1235 embossed aluminum cigarette inner packaging foil contains no easily oxidized or easily precipitated metal elements (such as copper and magnesium). It remains stable at room temperature and, even with prolonged contact with tobacco, produces no harmful substances, meeting food-grade packaging safety standards.