Why tobacco & paper(for cigarette) separate in old movies?!
Answers:
Smokers are still rolling their own cigarettes. But when machine made cigarettes became commonplace in the WWII era, most people stopped bothering. The ones who continued were those who had preferences about blending their own tobacco mixtures and did not mind the fuss.
There are great old movies where the spies wrote secret messages on the very fine tobacco papers.
The Art & Style of Marketing Movies, Movie Trailers & Clips ... However to roll a tobacco cigarette the old fashion way However to roll a tobacco ... The materials want for rolling a cigarette are paper, filter as well as tobacco. Instructions: Different Leaves Different your dried tobacco leaves into those .
http://waytoenliven.com/category/recreation-leisure/tobacco/
It's called "Rolling your own" and is still common - a cheaper way to smoke than to buy ready made cigarettes
Probably still is. I don't smoke but I can remember seeing people roll cigarettes in the late 70's and early eighties.