A method of forming homogenized tobacco material comprises the steps of forming a homogenized slurry (104) comprising tobacco powder,casting the homogenized slurry onto a moving belt(105), applying a porous reinforcement sheet(205) to the surface of the cast homogenized slurry (201) such that the porous reinforcement sheet becomes incorporated into the cast homogenized slurry, and drying the cast homogenized slurry with the incorporated cellulose sheet (207) to form the homogenized tobacco material. The porous reinforcement sheet has anisotropic properties such that it has a higher tensile strength in its longitudinal direction than in its transverse direction.In this way the strength of the homogenized tobacco sheet may be significantly improved compared with prior art methods of manufacture without altering the overall composition of the homogenized tobacco material to any significant degree.
