There are multiple brands now offering active or activated carbon/charcoal filters. Most of these brands are based outside of India as this trend has originated from the West. Germany and Netherlands were one of the first nations to witness this practice in the mainstream, which then followed in Italy, France, UK and other European countries, and then came USA and Australia. It is only now that this trend is beginning to gain traction in South Asia including India and Bangladesh. Here we explore the 5 leading brands in the industry.
1. PEER Next:
The newest brand of active carbon smoking filters in the market compared to the competition, but while one must not boast of oneself, we are proud to rank at the top amongst a focus group that was conducted of 20 adult users in Delhi NCR. The average answers revealed that PEER Next ranked high in terms of both quality and value for money. Issues such as flavour loss/change, carbon dust, and clogging were absent in PEER Next but were found in some other foreign carbon filter brands. PEER Next uses Coconut shell based active carbon sourced from a well reputed company based out of UK since 1965. The packaging comes with an ‘original seal’ which ensures authentic and untampered filters to consumers. PEER Drinks and PEER Next are owned by the same parent company which is a pioneer in the harm reduction space in India and neighbouring countries since 2016.
2. Actitube:
Also known as just ‘Actis’, these Germany filters are the most commonly available filters in the market because of a good distribution system and also because it was the first brand to offer such filters for apparently over 20 years. However, the filters mainly offered by the Berlin based brand were thick (8mm, 9mm) and meant for use in tobacco pipes, and they could not be used in standard joints. Seeing an uptick in demand for 6mm filters, Actitube has recently started offering 6mm smoking filters. The structure and high quantity of the activated charcoal inside the filters makes the pulls harder and some adult consumers found some degree of flavour change/loss.
3. Gizeh:
A direct competitor to Actitube, Gizeh is a German brand that is also widely available online as well as in tobacco shops. The packaging and branding is neat, and the filters are competitively priced. The brand has a rich history as it has been in the business of providing smoking accessories since 1920. The brand offers rolling papers which are of quality but somehow these rolling papers are not easy to find in the market. The company has again found success in the form of active carbon filters, but some customers complained of flavour change and other quality related limitations.
4. Purize:
This German brand was founded in 2016 by Roberto Hunger and Adrian Klett, and has seen immense growth as they were among the first to launch a thinner 5.9mm diameter filter when the market was dominated by thicker 8mm and 9mm filters. 6mm is indeed the perfect diameter for joints and the company saw this gap that existed in the market and acted upon it. The company has moved into bigger office spaces, and the products are sold at high price as it commanded a premium. However, now the brand is seeing stiff competition as equally good products are being made available at lower prices/margins. This is bound to happen in every industry or category. When new technology comes initially it is expensive, but gradually over time the prices fall, which is ultimately beneficial for end users.
5. Smoking:
This brand is one of the oldest brands in the tobacco accessories market. This Spanish brand was founded in the year 1922, and initially witnessed strong growth owing to a shortfall in rolling papers for cigarettes. It was much later that the brand started specializing in rolling papers for tobacco joints, which are thinner than the papers used in pre-rolled cigarettes. While the brand offers competitively priced active smoking filters, some customers felt presence of carbon dust, flavour change, and clogging issues with the filters. The Smoking Red papers however are popular and liked by adult consumers.