Storing Cigarettes: Test Review

Welcome and thank you for joining Perky Prepping Gramma. 
Today we are talking about storage cigarettes. 
Whether it is for personal use or barter; the topic of storing cigarettes (tobacco products, etc) comes up frequently in discussions about bartering. But, I haven't seen anyone yet, that actually tried to store cigarettes.
Doing what I do, I decided to test out storing cigarettes a little over a year ago (December 2013).

One pack was simply vacuum sealed, the other (2 plus packs) was vacuum sealed in a canning jar. 

The results were as follows: 

Actually the vacuum sealing was an epic fail. LOL. Could pretty much tell that from the start. Crushed the cigs & thinking it through it would be a huge waste of money, particularly with the cost of the Food Savers bags. Though the cigarette was still fairly fresh.

The cigarettes that were vacuum sealed in the canning jar fared much better. But still the added cost of using jars really doesn't make it worth it. The cigarette itself was as fresh as it was when it went in.

All in all, if I was going to choose to store cigarettes for barter (not convinced of that at all), I think I would just stored the cartons as is. If there is a shortage, I would say most people who would be that desperate for a cigarette, wouldn't care about the freshness.

Now, storing tobacco seeds is a different idea all together. I do know there are people who are storing & or growing tobacco already. If you wanted to think of storing tobacco as a cash crop or for bartering I think storin seeds would be more practical.

Personally, I have purchased tobacco seeds. Honestly, I don't even know if these seeds are for smoking. We will see how that goes later. Growing tobacco isn't high on my list at this time. It is going to be one of those on my list of things to do. It does take practice to grow these types of products. Plus, I want it to be in a completely secure location to protect the animals.

If you have stored tobacco products I would be interested in your observations.

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Bartering...

This post stared because of the "Use 1, buy 2" Facebook post earlier.
Specifically about storing something you don't particularly like, but would eat if you HAD to.
Examples:
I have one can of Spam (old Spam), 7 Dak hams that I purchased in the beginning before I figured out it would be better to pressure can my own meat. & 6 Ramen noodle packs, that we just sitting around.
Would we eat it if we had to, sure. Would I buy more? Nope. I don't eat Dak ham now, why store any more? It makes more sense to me to spend my money on things I know we will eat.

I have thought about storing things to barter, then again I always would revert to
1) Shouldn't I already have what I need if I am preparing?
Yes, there might be things I have forgotten-
Is accumulating bartering items we don't need or want be worth the cost now? This isn't set in stone, but a question I am constantly going over.

I also initially purchased a large package of a variety of seeds (non-GMO, non-hybrid) for storage. Will I do that again, probably not. For example there are turnips & okra seeds in that pack. I don't like them. I might consider bartering with those seeds.
As I plan my garden purchases this winter-I will continue to focus on vegetables and fruits that I know we will eat.

What would you be willing to barter?
Would you store items that you wouldn't eat, simply for bartering?
Would there be some ethics on what to barter?

Another example, many don't drink for various reasons. We rarely drink. Maybe 3 times a year.
But, there are great medicinal purposes for alcohol. For pain relief, sterilization & creating tinctures.
Do have alcohol stored? Yes. So do we have items to continue producing alcohol as our supplies run out? (plan B.) I will leave that to your imagination. Now as for bartering? Would you feel comfortable bartering alcohol?

What about ammo? Why barter away the ones we had decided to focus on and possibly run out? What about caliber's we are not focusing on, yet still have? Do I want to risk bartering with the possibility of those things being used against us?

I do believe I will barter as things become safe to do so. I also have given serious thought to (but, haven't decided) about having packages to give way with some basics for people in need, with the caveat this is a one time deal, do NOT return. Things like beans, cornmeal...
But then again, I end to do that in my life currently.

I know this post really is simply a lot of questions. Sometimes I don't have answers, but I want you to think about what you would do. I simply proffer these ideas for your consideration.