#82: TOP 10 CIGARETTE BRANDS

Although smokers are being treated like second-class citizens in many parts of the world, smoking is still legal, and many people still smoke. They might be huddled together outside of their workplace on a cold February afternoon, or excusing themselves from a party every 15 minutes to light up, but they're still smoking, God love 'em. There are hundreds of name-brand cigarettes on the market world-wide, and even more off-brand and generic types, but everyone has their favorite brand. We've compiled a list of the top 10 cigarette brands. Most of them are primarily found in the US, but there are brands that you can get in other countries as well. 

10 West Cigarettes

Owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco, they can be found in 90 different countries in the world. However, they cannot be purchased in the UK or Ireland. They are produced in Germany. They come in shorts, longs, menthol, and non-menthol versions.More info on Wikipedia

9 Prime Time

It might seem strange to include a cigar on this list, but in case you didn't know, "cigarette" is French for "little cigar," so Prime Time cigars have the right to be here. Whether you think they're cigars shaped like cigarettes or cigarettes that resemble cigars, they are growing in popularity. They come in many flavors, including cherry, grape, chocolate mint and regular. More info on official site

8 L&M

Abbreviated from Liggit and Myers, L&M cigarettes are all the rage in Europe, Asia and the Arab nations. They have only been available in the United States since 2007, even though they are produced by the Altria Group, Inc., the company formerly known as Philip Morris. You can get them in menthol and non-menthol varieties. More info on Wikipedia

7 Parliament

The best cigarette for cocaine users (if you believe the rumors). Parliament cigarettes are produced by Philip Morris and come in both regular and menthol varieties. They are popular throughout the world, including Asia, the United States, Japan, India, Turkey and Russia. They are different from most cigarettes because they have a recessed filter, which is how the cocaine rumor got started. More info on Wikipedia

6 Lucky Strike

Did you ever hear the phrase, "Smokin' a Lucky?" Well, these are the smokes the people were talking about. One of the oldest manufactured cigarette on the market, the first Luckies were produced in 1871. The orignal Lucky Strike pack was green, but when World War II broke out, the company switched to the now recognized red, white and black pack. More info on Wikipedia

5 Pall Mall

Named after a popular street in London, Pall Malls were originally produced to attract upper middle class Londoners. When the company was sold to American Tobacco, they became one of the most popular cigarettes in the US. More info on Wikipedia

4 Winston

Believe it or not, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble used to do commercials for Winston cigarettes. Yeah, that Fred and Barney. In the 50s, celebrity endorsements for cigarettes were very popular, and a kiddie cartoon was no exception. Think about it, back in those days, the family used to watch television together, so even though it was the kid's show, mom and dad were probably watching too. But it's still hard to picture Fred saying, "Yabba dabba doo!" with a smoke hanging out of his mouth. More info on Wikipedia

3 Newport

Unlike other cigarette brands that created a menthol version of their cigarettes later, Newport did the reverse. The menthol cigarette pre-dates the non-menthol. Newports are the #1 brand for African-American smokers and you can't pick up an Ebony or Jet without seeing at least one advertisement for the brand. More info on Wikipedia

2 Camel

Camel cigarettes used to have a cartoon camel on the pack whose name was Joe Camel. However, the company which produce Camels, R.J. Reynolds, was forced to remove him from the packs and all its merchandise because it was thought that Joe was meant to appeal to children. And we can all agree that advertising cigarettes to kids is a bad thing to do. But even without the cartoon camel, plenty of people still smoke the brand. Enough to make it the runner-up on our list. More info on Wikipedia

And now, without further ado, the most popular brand of cigarettes is…

1 Marlboro

Is this a shock to anyone? Marlboro is one of the most popular brands throughout the world. Although it no longer sports the Marlboro Man on its packet, people who choose Marlboro still buy into the wild west attitude. Even with the unflattering nickname of "Cowboy Killers," Marlboro Reds are still the most popular and purchased cigarette in the world. More info on Wikipedia

And there you have it -- the top 10 brands of cigarettes. We're sure one of your favorites is on the list. However, since we are in no hurry to get a stern letter from the Surgeon General, we have to remind you that smoking is bad for you. It could cause cancer, low birth weight in babies, can complicate pregnancy and make your fingers all yellow and icky. And yes, sometimes, kissing a smoker is like kissing an ashtray. However, we draw the line at showing you some obscenely graphic photo of what you lungs might look like after 50 years of smoking, or people talking through a device in their throat. Just consider yourself warned: If you don't smoke, you shouldn't start, and if you do smoke you might want to consider quitting.

#81: India's cigarette giant makes a healthy choice

(Reuters) - India's biggest cigarette maker is going on a health kick.

ITC Ltd sells 80 percent of the cigarettes in the world's second most populous country where 275 million people use tobacco products.

But as India follows the rest of the world in adopting anti-smoking regulations, the company's core tobacco business is getting squeezed and it is venturing into dairy products, drinks and perhaps even healthy breakfast foods to try to expand its money-losing consumer products business.

"Indians are turning health-conscious in their food choices, so health and nutrition will be a very strong focus area for us in the coming years," Chitranjan Dar, chief executive of ITC Foods, told Reuters in a phone interview.

ITC, India's fifth most valuable company with a market capitalization of $38 billion, already makes cookies, crackers and potato chips, so expanding into dairy and breakfast foods is not that big of a stretch.

But healthy food marks a sharp turn for a company best known for cigarettes. Although ITC got into the food business a decade ago, cigarettes account for half the company's revenue and even its initials are a throwback to its century-old roots when it was known as Imperial Tobacco. The company is 30.8 percent owned by British American Tobacco.

Building market share in food and consumer products may be difficult. With the exception of packaged flour, where ITC holds a leading position, the company has not won more than 15 percent of the market for any product category in which it competes.

It has spent 45 billion rupees ($809 million) building up its food and consumer product segments over the past 10 years, according to analysts.

"No other consumer company has invested such sums of money without creating a relevant share in any category," said Nikhil Vora, managing director at Mumbai-based IDFC Securties.

Vora's firm downgraded the stock to underperform from outperform after Australia barred the use of logos on cigarette packs on August 15, sparking speculation that India's regulators would follow.

Investors initially knocked $1.3 billion from ITC's market value after Australia's move, although the stock has since recovered, in part because most smokers in India buy cigarettes in single sticks, not packs.

An investor favorite for its defensive characteristics, ITC shares have risen 32 percent this year, outpacing the 13 percent rise in the index.

ITC makes Sunfeast biscuits, Bingo snacks and the Fiama Di Wills range of soaps and shampoos, competing with the likes of Hindustan UnileverLtd, Procter & Gamble Co, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and Dabur India Ltd in a price-sensitive market worth $13 billion and growing at 15-20 percent a year.

Its consumer goods sales rose 24 percent to 55.3 billion rupees in the year to March, accounting for 22 percent of total ITC revenue, although the business was a drag on overall profit, losing 1.96 billion rupees before interest and tax.

It aims to triple revenue from consumer goods over the next 5 to 7 years.

"What we have achieved is not bad for a business that is a decade old in this space," ITC's Dar said, adding that parts of its consumer goods business were "profit positive."

CIGARETTES AND FOOD

ITC is not the first company to try to mix cigarettes and food. Tobacco giant Altria Group Inc, formerly known as Philip Morris, bought Kraft Foods in 1988, although it later spun off the food company and has returned its focus to tobacco.

Tighter regulations add urgency to ITC's food drive.

India has followed global trends in tobacco restrictions, banning smoking in public places in 2008 and a year later requiring graphic health warnings on cigarette packages.

It has steadily raised taxes on tobacco products, most recently by 20 percent. Analysts said that contributed to an unexpected 3 percent drop in ITC's cigarette volume sales in the June quarter.

Some Indian states are also raising taxes. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous, in July raised the value-added tax on cigarettes to 50 percent from 17.5 percent, prompting speculation that others will hike taxes too.

ITC has set up 7 new plants this year to support its consumer products expansion, and plans to test new categories including coffee, tea and dairy products that can be stored at room temperature.

"Almost all the categories they operate in this space already have large established players, so clawing away market share from them wont be easy," said Pinakiranjan Mishra a partner with Ernst and Young who focuses on consumer products and retail.

"Their distribution strength can make a difference but their aim to triple growth in a few years still looks very tough," he said.

#80: Ban on smokeless tobacco products remains ineffective in Ambala

Manish Sirhindi
Tribune News Service

Ambala, April 1

A complete ban on manufacturing, storage, distribution and sale of gutkha and other tobacco products imposed by the state government in July, last year, has hardly proved to be a deterrent for those involved in the trade.

The state government had issued strict instructions to the officials to implement and enforce a blanket ban on manufacture, stock, sale and use of all tobacco products in the state. The ban was imposed under the Food Safety and Standard Act of 2006. However, the sale of gutkha and other tobacco products still goes on unabated and these products can easily be bought at small vends operating on streets and outside the Ambala railway station.

Ironically, while the ban failed to bring down the sale of tobacco products, it helped sellers of these products earn handsome profit as the cost of one pouch of gutkha rose by almost five times after the ban. With the gutkha lovers not hesitating from paying dearer prices to get their daily dose of tobacco, the business seems to be flourishing like never before.

The officials, however, maintain that strict action was taken against the defaulters in the cases that were brought to their notice, but the reality is far from it. Balbir Singh, a local resident, said the officials concerned had failed to conduct regular surprise checks to keep a tab on the sale and purchase of gutkha. “If they had done so, there would have been no sale of any tobacco products in the district,” he said.

He said it was not without a reason that the country was topping the list of smokeless tobacco users in the world with nearly 83 per cent consumers.

Local retailers in the city said the ban had resulted in black marketing of the tobacco products and there had been no reduction in its use. One of the retailers, on the condition of anonymity, said the wholesalers were providing them with tobacco products at an inflated rate on the pretext that exorbitant prices was being paid to top officials to keep the business running.

While some retailers do not display the product for the fear of being caught by the authorities, there are others who show no fear of the law and display the tobacco products (see picture) openly. Another retailer said he continued to sell around 2,000 to 2,500 packs of gutkha per day and there was hardly any shortage of the stock.

#79: All Time Favorite CIGARETTE COMMERCIALS ... RARELY SEEN NOWADAYS

A collection of ultra rare cigarette tv commercials from the early 1960's. All mastered from 35mm network prints. Including one of a kind bumpers from the early Joey Bishop show.

#78: How to Smoke a Cigarette Indoors Without Getting Caught - Method 2

Fabric Filter Method

1. 1
   Find an old towel, T-shirt or other fabric item you don't use much. Bunch it into a wad that you're able to hold onto with one hand. If you can, dampen the item a bit so that it's moist, but not soaking wet. The water will help prevent the smoke from escaping the fabric.
2. 2
   Blow smoke into the fabric. Put your mouth as close to the fabric as you can; this will help it absorb more of the smoke.
3. 3
   Wash the item when you're done. Launder the item immediately to get rid of the smokey smell. If you can't wash it right away, put it in a plastic bag and tie the handles into a knot, as tightly as you can. This should keep the smell concealed for a short time until you can wash the fabric.
4. 4
   Spray an air freshener around the room. Inevitably, some smoke missed the fabric and dissipated in the air. Cover your tracks.