With ciggies in short supply, Gaza smokers turn to dried jute

GAZA CITY – Though Gazans normally use molokhia, or jute leaves, for soup, Mr Abu Yahya Helles coats the crumbled, dried leaves in liquid nicotine and rolls them into cigarettes as a tobacco alternative.

In war-ravaged Gaza, where shortages are still acute, some are now smoking Mr Helles’ home-made roll-ups as a cheaper option, as cigarette prices have skyrocketed due to Israel’s blockade of many basic goods.

Mr Helles knows his smokes are no replacement for the real thing, but with the price of a single cigarette soaring from 1 Israeli shekel (43 Singapore cents) to between 30 and 40 shekels, he has plenty of customers.

“This is in no way a substitute for cigarettes because, at the end of the day, this is molokhia with nicotine added to it”, he said, while preparing a batch.

At his makeshift stall on a busy Gaza City street, he uses a syringe to inject liquid nicotine into a bag of dried jute leaves, using a large 1kg bottle of the type often confiscated by the Israeli military from trucks entering Gaza.

He gives the small plastic bag a shake to infuse the leaves, then uses cigarette papers to roll the “tobacco”.

Although the street is lined with massive piles of broken concrete from apartment buildings destroyed during over two years of war in Gaza, it is busy.

Despite the October 2025 ceasefire, the local authorities say they have been unable to bring in the equipment they need to remove the rubble nor the materials they need to start rebuilding the tiny territory.

Ms Nivin Samir, 53, says she smoked a pack a day for 20 years, but recently switched to molokhia cigarettes.

“They taste and smell awful. I smoke several a day, maybe to vent my anger, or to live out my fantasy of enjoying them with a cup of coffee,” said Ms Samir, who has lived in a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis since her home was razed in an air strike.

Another Gaza City cigarette seller called Mr Mohammed Helles said people were not smoking molokhia out of choice.

“We’ve resorted to smoking dried molokhia leaves laced with nicotine as a substitute for imported cigarettes. We want cigarettes to be imported again so we can smoke normal tobacco,” he said.

But even the supply of molokhia is not guaranteed – whether it is grown in Gaza or imported – because Israel controls all access points, as well as about half of the territory.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, only 4 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural land is accessible to Palestinians and not damaged by war.

Mr Abu Muhammad Saqr, 47, said he smokes to find solace in post-war Gaza.

“I’ve been smoking since I was 13. Now I smoke molokhia cigarettes and leaves. If they gave me poison, I’d smoke it. I have no life or future to save my health for,” he said.

But Gaza City resident Walid al-Naizi said he was wary of such homemade products.

“These cigarettes are made from herbs such as molokhia, castor leaves and other varieties, and we don’t know whether they are toxic or not,” he said.

“Unknown liquid substances are added to them. We can’t tell if they are actually nicotine, poisons or even cockroach insecticide,” he added. AFP