To form an inner packaging paper without applying any excessive stress to groups of cigarettes in a packaging machine to package the group of cigarettes forming the content of a packet.

Groups 5 of cigarettes 6 are inserted in a spindle 29, and a sheet formed of a packaging material is folded on an outer surface 45 of the spindle 29. The spindle 29 is formed of a tubular shell 30, and relatively thin walls 37-40 of the shell 30 are reinforced by substantially triangular longitudinal inner reinforcing ribs 46. Each rib 46 is engaged with a longitudinal gap to be formed by two adjacent peripheral cigarettes in the group 5.