Vacuum Sealing

[Haebar]

Here's what a blog on tobaccopipes.com says about it:

Cellaring Tobacco: The Dos and Don’ts - TobaccoPipes.com

Do NOT Store In Plastic
One of the worst crimes a smoker can commit is to store their tobacco in plastic long term.

People believe it is OK to store tobacco in plastic, mostly because when they buy tobacco from their local tobacconist, they store the tobacco in a plastic bag. The intent behind that bag is that you take it home and store it in a jar, or that you smoke it relatively quickly. We are never given plastic bags to keep as storage containers.

The chemicals in the tobacco will begin to erode part of the plastic. This is then absorbed into the tobacco (not good). On top of that, the plastic will itself absorb the tobacco. It will begin to ghost (change colors). Just like how you store chili in a tub container, and after a few weeks the container is no longer clear, but brown, your tobacco will do the same.

“Pounds of tobacco are often delivered to shops in plastic”, you may say.

The truth is is these plastic bags have been chemically engineered to store tobacco for up to five years. So they are safe from the effect.


I don't know if you remember about the 5 lbs. of bulk Dunhill My Mixture that I purchased at the Nashville Pipe Show last year that was unsmokable. It had been stored in the original bag for about 10 years and bit like nobody's business. I ended up giving it to @Lostmason who tried various remedies and wasn't able to improve it. Anyway, my theory is that the casings reacted with the plastic bag and created some nasty contaminant that tainted the tobacco.