Abstract: A pack for smoking articles substantially in the form of a generally rectangular parallelepiped includes a pair of opposed major side walls; a pair of opposed minor side walls; four longitudinal edges between the major and minor side walls; and a pair of substantially rectangular opposed end faces defined by transverse edges of the major and minor side walls. At least one of the opposed substantially rectangular end faces is an open end face defined by free transverse edges of the major and minor side walls, at least one of the four longitudinal edges has a non-right-angled portion and the transverse perimeter of the pack is substantially constant. The pack is preferably formed from a folded blank and the non-right-angled portion is preferably defined by at least three lines of weakness in the blank.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for filling cigarette tubes with tobacco, wherein the device comprises at least one suitable separating means by means of which the tobacco can be detached from a tobacco block, and also at least one suitable filling means with which the cigarette tube can be filled with the tobacco, wherein the device comprises at least one suitable portioning means for the portioning of a tobacco block.

Abstract: The invention relates to a continuous tobacco slab (10) made of shredded tobacco which slab has a substantially uniform composition and a substantially uniform distribution of the shredded tobacco. The invention further relates to a multi-layer structure comprising the tobacco slab and in addition at least one layer, preferably one or two layers, of a smokable material other than shredded tobacco. Furthermore, the invention provides a package comprising the tobacco slab or multi-layer structure.