Clove cigarettes are a variety of cigarettes that were invented in Indonesia in the late nineteenth century. Specifically, the clove cigarette was invented in the 1880s by a man from the island of Java named Haji Jamahri. Clove cigarettes are similar to regular cigarettes but different in that they contain cloves; the original reason for the invention of the clove cigarette was for the medicinal value of the chemicals contained in the clove. In Indonesian, clove cigarettes are referred to by the term kreteks; It is more common for Indonesian smokers to buy kretek cigarettes than the plain tobacco variety of cigarettes, and the name kretek is an Indonesian word that stands for the sound made by the burning clove cigarettes as they crackle.

In the United States of America, wholesale clove cigarettes are often sold in varieties that do not use nicotine, the addictive substance that is used in tobacco cigarettes and is associated with various negative long term health effects. Nevertheless, laws have been passed in several U.S. states that prohibit the sale of clove cigarettes (backed by the lobbyists of the major tobacco companies). In other parts of the world such as Latin America, Asia and so on clove cigarettes are usually sold with the same nicotine and many of the other chemicals as typical cigarettes; the only difference between smoking clove cigarettes and smoking regular cigarettes in that case is the addition of the cloves.

The effects of clove cigarettes such as Djarum special clove cigarettes that have been studied in clove cigarette reviews have indicated that when clove cigarettes that contain the same chemicals as ordinary tobacco cigarettes are smoked (that is, clove cigarettes that differ only in the addition of cloves to the tobacco mix) there is no significant or noticeable difference in the health impact of smoking; thus health risks for clove cigarettes are the same as ordinary cigarettes when smoking those varieties. However, if you choose to smoke clove cigarettes that do not use nicotine or ordinary tobacco, the clove cigarettes dangers are vastly reduced, and many in the states have started to consider clove cigarettes for losing weight and for other untested health reasons. While it may be difficult to find clove cigarettes depending on what state you live in (the states that have banned the sale of clove cigarettes include Utah, Maryland and New Mexico) you may be interested in trying clove cigarettes for these reasons or as a way to help yourself step down from smoking ordinary cigarettes.