Smoking material containing expanded shredded grass, its manufacturing method and smoking article containing same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a smoking material containing puffed shredded grass, wherein the puffed shredded grass is contained in an amount of 50% or more by weight of the smoking material and the puffed shredded grass is produced by a low-temperature puffing process, as well as a method for producing the smoking material and a smoking article containing the smoking material, wherein the smoking material, including the puffed shredded grass produced by the low-temperature puffing process, has an excellent smoking taste.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a smoking material containing expanded shredded grass, a method for producing said smoking material, and a smoking article containing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Tobacco, the raw material for smoking products, is a high-value crop that is difficult to grow, and there have been efforts to process the tobacco shreds to reduce the amount used per cigarette and improve the flavor of the smoking material.

[0003] As part of these efforts, various methods have been developed and are used to expand tobacco raw materials such as the ligule and midrib, and the currently commonly used methods for expanding shredded tobacco can be divided into two types: the use of puffing agents and the freeze-drying method.

[0004] As for techniques related to puffing methods using leavening agents, U.S. Patent Nos. 3,524,452 and 3,753,440 disclose a method of treating with an organic solvent, U.S. Patent Nos. 3,771,533 and 4,235,250 disclose a method of puffing shredded herbs using carbon dioxide gas, and German Patent No. 2,903,330 and U.S. Patent No. 4,289,146 disclose a method of puffing shredded herbs using argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2), respectively. In addition to the above methods, methods of puffing shredded herbs using various types of gases and solvents have been developed and are in use.

[0005] However, when the shredded herbs are puffed as described above, there is a problem that the flavor peculiar to the shredded herbs is rather diminished. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For these reasons, the present invention provides a smoking material containing 50% by weight or more of expanded shredded grass produced by a low-temperature expansion process and having excellent flavor, a method for producing said smoking material, and a smoking article containing said smoking material.

[0007] However, the problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to a smoking material comprising puffed shredded grass, The expanded shredded grass is contained in an amount of 50% by weight or more of the smoking material, The smoking material is characterized in that the puffed shredded grass is produced by a low-temperature puffing process.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the low-temperature expansion process may be carried out at 200°C to 230°C.

[0010] In another embodiment of the present invention, the expanded shredded grass may be contained in an amount of 60% or more by weight of the smoking material.

[0011] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the puffed shredded grass may comprise one or more leaves selected from the group consisting of flue-cured, burley, oriental and cigar.

[0012] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the puffed shredded grass may contain 30-70% by weight of fleur-de-lis, 10-50% by weight of burley, and 0-50% by weight of oriental.

[0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, the puffed shredded grass may be flavored with one or more humectants selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol and glycerin.

[0014] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, propylene glycol may be added in an amount of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, and glycerin may be added in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the expanded shredded grass.

[0015] The present invention also provides a method for preparing raw material leaves, comprising: A step S2 of soaking the raw material leaves in liquid carbon dioxide; The present invention provides a method for producing smoking materials, the method including step S3 of heating the impregnated raw leaves and carrying out a low-temperature expansion process to produce expanded shredded grass, wherein the smoking material contains 50% by weight or more of the expanded shredded grass.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include adding a moisturizing agent after step S3.

[0017] The present invention also provides a smoking article comprising the smoking material according to the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0018] Conventionally, puffed shredded tobacco has a problem that the flavor is reduced when the puffing process is carried out at a high temperature, resulting in the loss of the inherent tobacco flavor. However, the present invention provides a smoking material with an excellent flavor that does not lose the inherent tobacco flavor, has reduced irritation, and has a clean aftertaste by carrying out a low-temperature puffing process at a temperature of 230°C or less.

[0019] In addition, the expanded shredded grass of the present invention has excellent swelling properties and can reduce the amount of shredded grass used, thereby reducing production costs and improving combustibility.

[0020] In addition, the expanded shredded tobacco is produced at an optimal expansion temperature of 200°C to 230°C, which makes it easy to control the moisture content, minimizing changes in moisture and allowing the production of smoking products with stable quality.

[0021] It should be understood that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, but include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the detailed description of the present invention or the claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a method for producing expanded shredded grass according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a graph showing the results of a sensory evaluation of smoking products containing expanded shredded grass expanded at 180°C and 370°C. [Diagram 3] 1 is a graph showing the results of a sensory evaluation of smoking products containing expanded shredded grass expanded at 200° C. and 370° C. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, since various modifications can be made to the embodiments, the scope of the patent application is not limited or restricted by these embodiments. It should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives to the embodiments are included in the scope of the patent.

[0024] The terms used in the examples are merely used for the purpose of explanation and should not be construed as limiting. A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should not be understood to preclude the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0025] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, etc., should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted as idealized or overly formal unless expressly defined in this application.

[0026] Throughout the specification, when a part "comprises" a certain element, this does not mean to exclude other elements, but may further include other elements.

[0027] Additionally, throughout the specification, "smoking material" refers to a portion or area that contains smokable material, i.e., a material capable of producing an aerosol and thus transferring nicotine to the user.

[0028] Throughout the specification, the term "smoking article" may mean any product that can be smoked or that can provide a smoking experience, whether or not based on tobacco, a tobacco derivative, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, or a tobacco substitute.

[0029] The smoking material containing puffed shredded grass and the method for producing puffed shredded grass of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples and drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples and drawings.

[0030] The present invention relates to a smoking material comprising puffed shredded grass, The expanded shredded grass is contained in an amount of 50% by weight or more of the smoking material, The puffed shredded grass corresponds to a smoking material, which is characterized by being produced by a low-temperature puffing process.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes a step S1 of preparing raw material leaves, A step S2 of soaking the raw material leaves in liquid carbon dioxide; A method for producing smoking material can be provided, which includes a step S3 of heating the impregnated raw leaves and carrying out a low-temperature puffing process to produce puffed shredded grass, wherein the smoking material contains 50% by weight or more of the puffed shredded grass.

[0032] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in step S2 of the present invention, the raw leaves are immersed in liquid carbon dioxide. The container in which the immersion proceeds may be in a high pressure or vacuum atmosphere. At this time, the liquid carbon dioxide penetrates into the pore structure of the raw leaves and freezes.

[0033] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in step S3 of the present invention, the raw leaves are heated and the low-temperature expansion process can proceed while the carbon dioxide inside the pores is vaporized, and the low-temperature expansion process can be performed at 200°C to 230°C. More preferably, the expansion process can be performed at 200°C to 220°C. If expansion proceeds at a temperature below 200°C, the moisture content of the expanded shredded tobacco will vary greatly, and the smoking product may not exhibit uniform quality, and if the temperature exceeds 230°C, the inherent tobacco flavor may not be rich.

[0034] The expansion process is carried out on tobacco shredded leaves, and is characterized in that the tobacco shredded leaves provide a superior smoking taste compared to those using materials such as midribs and ligules, have superior swelling properties compared to other materials, and can increase in volume by 20 to 50% compared to the volume of the shredded leaves before the expansion process.In comparison, it has been shown that the volume increase during the expansion process of materials such as midribs is less than 30%.

[0035] In addition, the puffed shredded grass expanded by the low-temperature expansion process is characterized by the fact that the loss of the inherent tobacco flavor is minimized.The smoking material containing the puffed shredded grass does not lose the inherent tobacco flavor, and at the same time, the irritation and unpleasant odor are reduced, providing a clean aftertaste.

[0036] The raw leaves may be cut to have a suitable width and length, or may be cut after the expansion process. The size of the expanded shredded herb may be 0.5 to 4.0 mm, and the expanded shredded herb contains shredded herb having a size of 0.85 mm or more at 95% by weight or more. As described above, the expanded shredded herb of the present invention has a high content of effective shredded herb (0.85 mm or more) after expansion.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the expanded shredded grass is contained in the smoking material at a content of 50% by weight or more, and preferably at a content of 60% by weight or more. The expanded shredded grass according to the present invention has the effect of reducing the amount of tobacco leaves used by being contained at such a high content.

[0038] In particular, the smoking material of the present invention can contain 100% by weight of expanded shredded tobacco. In this case, the amount of tobacco leaves used is reduced and the smoking taste is improved. At the same time, the process line used for cigarette production can use only the supply line for expanded shredded tobacco without a separate pure leaf processing operation, which has the advantage that the moisture content control and aromatization process can be easily carried out.

[0039] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the puffed shredded grass may include one or more leaves selected from the group consisting of flue-cured, burley, orient, and cigar. For example, based on the flue-cured grass, the puffed shredded grass may include both burley and orient, only one of burley and orient, only burley, or only flue-cured without leaves of other varieties.

[0040] More specifically, it may contain 30 to 70% by weight of yellow variety, 10 to 50% by weight of burley variety, and 0 to 50% by weight of orient variety. Preferably, it may contain 40 to 60% by weight of yellow variety, 10 to 30% by weight of burley variety, and 20 to 40% by weight of orient variety.

[0041] In the method for producing smoking material of the present invention, step S4 of adding unexpanded ordinary shredded grass after step S3 may be further included. There is no limitation on the type of ordinary shredded grass that may be included as the remainder in addition to the puffed shredded grass, and it may be at least one selected from, for example, yellow, burley, orient, cigar leaf, or Virginia, and may be the same as the leaf composition of the puffed shredded grass, but the above types are merely examples and are not limited to the above types. The remaining ordinary shredded grass may be processed through normal processes, such as humidification, flavoring, toasting, and blending processes.

[0042] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the puffed shredded grass is flavored with one or more humectants selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol and glycerin. The puffed shredded grass is flavored after a low-temperature expansion process, and in particular, the shredded grass used in the puffed shredded grass of the present invention is not cased with a humectant or the like in a step prior to the expansion process. The puffed shredded grass of the present invention is flavored with a humectant after the expansion process, allowing stable control of moisture content so that it can be used in smoking articles.

[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, propylene glycol may be added in an amount of 0.1-10 parts by weight, and glycerin may be added in an amount of 0.01-5 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the expanded shredded grass. If the propylene glycol is used in an amount of less than 0.1 parts by weight, the moisture retention may be insufficient, affecting the smoking taste, and if it is used in an amount of more than 10 parts by weight, the viscosity may be unsuitable. Also, if the glycerin is used in an amount of less than 0.01 parts by weight, the moisture retention may be insufficient, affecting the smoking taste, and if it is used in an amount of more than 5 parts by weight, the viscosity may be unsuitable.

[0044] In addition to propylene glycol and glycerin, the moisturizer may further include at least one of ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol.

[0045] In the aromatizing step, flavoring agents other than the moisturizer may be added together. The flavoring agents may be naturally occurring flavoring materials, herbal medicines, herbal medicine extracts, synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof (e.g., tobacco, cannabis, licorice, hydrangea, eugenol, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, maple, matcha, menthol, mint, cinnamon, turmeric, herbs, cherry, berries, peach, apple, orange, mango, clementine, lemon, lime, grape, blueberry, citrus fruits, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, aloe vera, sandalwood, bergamot, pine, rose oil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, orange blossom, cherry blossom, or combinations thereof). blossom, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, mint oil from any species of coffee, eucalyptus, star anise, cocoa, lemongrass, rooibos, flax, ginkgo, hazel, hibiscus, bay, matté, orange peel, rose, tea (e.g., green or black tea), thyme, fragrant wood, elderflower, basil, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, paprika, rosemary, saffron, lemon peel, mint, shiso, day jasmine, coriander, myrtle, blackcurrant, valerian, pimento, mace, marjoram, olive, lemon balm, lemon basil, scallion, carvi, verbena, tarragon, limonene, thymol, camphene, flavour enhancers enhancers, sugars and / or sugar substitutes (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharin, cyclamate, lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose sorbitol or mannitol), and other additives such as charcoal, chlorophyll, minerals, botanicals or breath freshening agents. These may be, but are not limited to, artificial, synthetic or natural components or blends thereof.

[0046] The present invention also provides a smoking article containing the smoking material.

[0047] The smoking article, including the expanded shredded grass of the present invention, can have an EPD (encapsulated pressure drop) draw resistance of 60 to 120 mmH2O and an UPD (unencapsulated pressure drop) draw resistance of 140 to 180 mmH2O. The smoking article of the present invention, including the expanded shredded grass, can exhibit a draw resistance at a similar level to that of a general smoking article, despite the reduced weight of the smoking material. In addition, the smoking article can have a hardness of 80% or more, which is also a similar level to that of a general smoking article.

[0048] The smoking article may be a combustion-type or a heating-type smoking article. The combustion-type smoking article can be used in the tobacco material portion of a combustible smoking article such as a filter cigarette, a small cigar, or a cigar. The heating-type smoking article refers to an article that is smoked by applying heat by an electric heating means such as a heater without burning it with a fire.

[0049] The smoking article may include smoking material and a filter portion, and may further include other types of segments depending on the form of the smoking article.

[0050] The smoking article may include a cigarette paper encasing the smoking material and the filter portion. The cigarette paper may be made of paper, flax, wood pulp, or a polymeric material.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the filter unit may be a mono-filter, a double filter, or a triple filter. The filter unit may include at least one of a porous matrix structure, a tube structure, and a paper tube structure. The filter may include a filter tow including a fiber, a filament, or both including at least one of a polymer, a paper, a cellulose acetate, activated carbon, and carbon. However, the filter tow may not be limited thereto. In some embodiments, the filter material may further include at least one filter material known in the art, such as an adsorbent including carbon, activated carbon, etc.

[0052] For example, the smoking article may have a diameter of 4 mm to 10 mm, a circumference of 14 mm to 29 mm, and a length of 45 mm to 100 mm, but is not limited thereto.

[0053] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, since various modifications can be made to the embodiments, the scope of the patent application is not limited or restricted by these embodiments. It should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives to the embodiments are included in the scope of the patent.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, etc., should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted as idealized or overly formal unless expressly defined in this application.

[0055] [Example] 1. Manufacturing of puffed shredded grass The production of puffed shredded herring according to the present invention was carried out by preparing blended pure leaves (50 wt% yellow variety, 20 wt% Oriental variety, 30 wt% Burley variety). The pure leaves were cut into a cutting width of 0.9 mm, immersed in a container containing liquid carbon dioxide, and heated according to the temperatures shown in Table 1 below to evaporate the carbon dioxide and carry out the puffing process.

[0056] [Table 1]

[0057] 2. Manufacturing of cigarettes containing puffed shredded grass Cigarettes containing the expanded shredded grass were manufactured according to the composition shown in Table 2 below. As the filter, an Asemono filter was used, and a 1000CU tip paper was used.

[0058] [Table 2]

[0059] The cigarettes were examined to see whether end detachment occurred. 2 , and Comparative Example 2 is 10.1 mg / cm 2 , and Comparative Example 3 is 8.7 mg / cm 2 , and Comparative Example 4 is 9.0 mg / cm 2 and Example 3 is 6.7 mg / cm 2 No significant difference was observed in the level of end drop-off between the Comparative Examples and the Examples. As a result of checking the combustibility, it was confirmed that the burning speed of the Examples 1 to 3 was about 24% faster than that of the Comparative Examples 1 to 4.

[0060] Furthermore, the physical properties of the cigarettes of Comparative Examples 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Example 3 were measured, and the results are shown in Table 3 below.

[0061] [Table 3]

[0062] From the results in Table 3, it can be seen that the weight of shredded grass in the cigarettes according to the embodiments of the present invention is reduced by about 27%. That is, despite the reduction in the shredded grass weight in the cigarettes according to the embodiments of the present invention, the sensory quality such as end shedding is at a comparable level, and therefore, it can be seen that the air dilution rate can be reduced while achieving the same smoke components.

[0063] After storing the cigarettes for two weeks, the number of spots appearing on the leaves was measured. It was confirmed that the cigarettes of the embodiment had fewer spots. The swelling properties of the shredded leaves in the produced cigarettes were confirmed and are shown in Table 4 below.

[0064] [Table 4]

[0065] From the above results, it was confirmed that the swelling properties of the shredded grass according to the examples of the present invention are superior to those of the comparative examples.

[0066] 3. Checking the smoke components of manufactured cigarettes A total of 20 cigarettes of Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2, Comparative Example 3, Comparative Example 4 and Example 3 were smoked in an automatic smoking machine according to the ISO smoking conditions, and the average values ​​of tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and moisture in the total smoke condensate collected on the Cambridge filter pad and the number of puffs were measured, and the results are shown in Table 5.

[0067] [Table 5]

[0068] As a result of the above experiment, it was confirmed that in the case of Comparative Example 4 and Example 3, in which the low-temperature expansion process was carried out as in the present invention, the amount of tar migration was about 35% less than that of the cigarette of Comparative Example 1.

[0069] 4. Adding the aroma of puffed shredded grass The expanded shredded herbs of Preparation Examples 2, 3 and 4 were treated with the addition of a humectant according to Table 6 below (100 kg of shredded herbs). 20 samples were treated for each sample, and the average is shown. At the same time as adding the humectant, a flavoring agent was also used to add flavor.

[0070] [Table 6]

[0071] After the aromatization process, the moisture content was measured. As shown in Table 6, in the case of Example 5, the moisture content was not significantly different from that in the high-temperature expansion process.

[0072] In the case of Comparative Example 6, the average moisture content appeared to be low, and the deviation in the moisture content of the shredded grass in particular appeared to be significantly large.

[0073] 5. Sensory evaluation of cigarettes containing puffed shredded grass The smoking products containing 100% expanded shredded tobacco expanded at 180°C, 200°C, and 370°C were subjected to sensory evaluations in terms of inhalation, smoke volume, tobacco-specific taste, smoking strength, irritation, off-flavors, clean aftertaste, and overall tobacco taste, and the results are shown in Table 7. The sensory evaluations were conducted by a 25-member evaluation panel using cigarettes from each example that were manufactured two weeks ago, and a total score of 7 points was used as the standard.

[0074] [Table 7]

[0075] From the above results, it was confirmed that the smoking product containing shredded grass expanded at 200°C according to the present invention has superior sensory evaluation results compared to smoking products containing shredded grass expanded at 180°C or 370°C.

[0076] Figure 2 shows a graph of the sensory evaluation results of smoking products containing shredded grass expanded at 180°C and smoking products containing shredded grass expanded at 370°C. Figure 2 confirms that smoking products containing shredded grass expanded at 180°C showed superior sensory evaluation results to smoking products containing 30% shredded grass expanded at 370°C.

[0077] Figure 3 shows a graph of the sensory evaluation results of a smoking product containing shredded grass expanded at 200°C and a smoking product containing shredded grass expanded at 370°C. Figure 3 confirms that the smoking product containing shredded grass expanded at 200°C showed superior sensory evaluation results to the smoking product containing 30% shredded grass expanded at 370°C.

[0078] As described above, although the embodiments have been described with reference to limited drawings, those having ordinary skill in the art may apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, the described techniques may be performed in a different order from that described, and / or the components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. may be combined or combined in a different manner from that described, or may be replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents to achieve suitable results.

[0079] Therefore, other embodiments, examples, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0080] The present invention provides a smoking material with excellent flavor and clean aftertaste with reduced irritation without losing the inherent tobacco flavor by performing a low-temperature expansion process at a temperature of 230°C or less, and the expanded shredded grass according to the present invention has excellent swelling properties and can reduce the amount of shredded grass used, thereby reducing production costs and improving combustion properties.In addition, the expanded shredded grass is produced at an optimal expansion temperature of 200°C to 230°C, which allows easy control of moisture content, and is used as a smoking product with stable quality with minimal moisture change.

Claims

1. A smoking material comprising puffed shredded grass, The expanded shredded grass is contained in an amount of 50% by weight or more of the smoking material, The smoking material is characterized in that the puffed shredded grass is produced by a low-temperature puffing process.

2. 2. The smoking material according to claim 1, wherein the low-temperature expansion process is carried out at 200°C to 230°C.

3. 2. The smoking material according to claim 1, wherein the expanded shredded grass is contained in an amount of 60% by weight or more of the smoking material.

4. 2. The smoking material according to claim 1, wherein the puffed shredded grass comprises one or more types of leaves selected from the group consisting of flue-cured, burley, oriental and cigar leaves.

5. 5. The smoking material according to claim 4, wherein the expanded shredded grass comprises 30 to 70% by weight of flue-cured tobacco, 10 to 50% by weight of burley tobacco, and 0 to 50% by weight of oriental tobacco.

6. 2. The smoking material according to claim 1, wherein the expanded shredded grass is flavored with one or more humectants selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol and glycerin.

7. The smoking material according to claim 6, wherein propylene glycol is added in an amount of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight and glycerin is added in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the expanded shredded grass.

8. Step S1 of preparing raw material leaves; A step S2 of soaking the raw material leaves in liquid carbon dioxide; A method for producing a smoking material, comprising: a step S3 of heating the impregnated raw leaf material to carry out a low-temperature expansion process to produce expanded shredded grass; A method for producing a smoking material, characterized in that the smoking material contains the puffed shredded grass in an amount of 50% by weight or more.

9. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 8, wherein the low-temperature expansion step is carried out at 200°C to 230°C.

10. 9. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 8, wherein the raw material leaves include one or more types of leaves selected from the group consisting of flue-cured, burley, oriental, and cigar leaves.

11. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 10, wherein the raw material leaves contain 30 to 70% by weight of flue-cured tobacco, 10 to 50% by weight of burley tobacco, and 0 to 50% by weight of oriental tobacco.

12. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 8, further comprising the step of adding flavor with a humectant after step S3.

13. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 12, wherein the humectant is at least one selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol and glycerin.

14. The method for producing a smoking material according to claim 13, wherein propylene glycol is added in an amount of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight and glycerin is added in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the expanded shredded grass.

15. A smoking article comprising the smoking material of claim 1.

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