High frequency (HF) heating is the term applied to the generation of heat in non-conducting materials by their dielectric losses when subjected to an alternating field of high frequency. In vegetable materials the captured HF power brings the fluid in the cell tissue to the boil and the vapor pressure developed expands the cell structure. For cut cigarette tobacco this is a low cost and environmentally acceptable method of lamina puffing. The only emission is the steam escaping from the tobacco tissue. After conditioning and pre-heating, the tobacco is expanded by passing it through a filament-reinforced epoxy resin tube placed between two electrodes across which the HF voltage is applied. The paper reviews the main performance parameters of the expansion step: permissible working stress or the tube material for the desired service life; dielectric loss properties of the tube material for determination of the HF voltage to be applied to the electrodes; effect of power input on expansion pressure; residence time for satisfactory expansion without excessive tobacco moisture loss. To progress the lamina puffing application to the industrial stage we have tentatively scheduled a 3-phase R&D program: a laboratory phase to quantify the principal process engineering and design data, including production of samples for initial filling power and smoking tests. A pilot plant phase where we check out the operating conditions for the expansion of tobacco blends in a 100 kg/h demonstration plant; the commercialization phase where we license industrial scale (1500 kg/h) tobacco expansion projects through an engineer/contractor.