Cigarettes

Cigarettes – a by-product of industrialisation?

Cigarettes probably came into being as a cheaper alternative to cigars, which were manufactured in factories throughout Europe in the 19th century. The factory workers probably thought it would be a good idea to take the tobacco off-cuts and remnants from rolling their cigars, wrap them in paper and smoke them. In the 1860s, the first cigarette factories were established in which tobacco was prepared by machine and rolled into cigarettes. After the turn of the twentieth century, cigarettes became a mass phenomenon worldwide, one that surpassed other tobacco goods such as pipe tobacco, snuff and cigars and still continues to enjoy the greatest popularity on the international scale.

From tobacco plants to cigarettes – how cigarettes are produced

In Europe and the USA, there is a preference for the American blends which are made up of mild, light Virginia tobacco, aromatic burley and robust, dark oriental tobacco. American blends are produced by all the big cigarette brands such as Marlboro, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike, which you can also pre-order online from Heinemann for collection from the shop. Usually, the ready-fermented and dried tobacco leaves are delivered for further processing in the factory, where the various tobacco varieties are blended to create as balanced an aroma as possible. The tobacco is cut into fine strips and loosened in a feeder before the cut tobacco is fed through pipes into the cigarette machine and wrapped with cigarette paper and provided with a filter.

International tobacco enjoyment – the most popular cigarette brands

Apart from regional tobacco specialities such as Indonesian Kretek, it is primarily the large tobacco brands that dominate the international market. The best-known cigarette brands include:

• Marlboro is the most popular cigarette brand and one of the ten most important brands in the world. Largely, it became famous with the image of the freedom-loving adventurer.
• Lucky Strike cigarettes have been manufactured in the USA since 1917. The British American Tobacco brand developed from a chewing tobacco brand and became popular in Europe after the Second World War.
• Camel cigarettes contain a higher proportion of aromatic oriental tobacco than other American blends. The brand has been produced in the USA since 1913.
• Gauloises are French cigarettes that are distinguished by a strong, clearly oriental aroma. Gauloises were sold in Europe without a filter for a long time.
• John Player Special cigarettes trace back to the traditional John Player Company and became famous for sponsoring Formula One. Today, JPS is part of Imperial Brands.