 | |
| Product type | Cigarette |
|---|---|
| Owner | Imperial Brands |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1894 |
| Markets | See Markets |
| Previous owners | W. D. & H. O. Wills |
| Tagline | "Time for a Capstan", "Have a Capstan" |
| Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1 | |
Capstan is a British brand of unfiltered cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Imperial Brands. The brand dwindled in popularity when the health effects of tobacco became more widely known; few shops sell them today.
Capstan was originally launched by W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1894, and was one of the most popular brands of cigarettes in the early-twentieth century. [1] W.D. & H.O. Wills spent £4,000 (equivalent to £477,509.50 in 2018) on promoting the Capstan cigarettes in 1900, and these amounts were in addition to regular charges for advertising, including showcards and newspaper advertisements. [2] It was W.D. & H.O. Wills' answer to Player's Medium cigarettes. [3] In 1973, the UK Government published a table of the tar and nicotine contents of cigarettes available in the UK market, and Capstan Full Strength contained, by a margin of 0.21 mg/cigarette, the highest nicotine content (3.39 mg/cigarette) of any brand, and the second-highest tar content. [4] [5] However, since 2004 cigarettes sold in the UK have had a cap of 10 mg of tar and 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette.
Various advertising posters were made for Capstan cigarettes, including one to encourage female workers in factories during World War II to smoke Capstan to relax at the end of a working day. One of the most well-known slogans at the time was "Time for a Capstan". [6] [7] [8] Another popular slogan after the end of WWII was "Have a Capstan". [9] [10] A few celebrities advertised this brand, such as English actress Evelyn Laye and British star David Niven. [11]
The song "Saturday's Kids" from The Jam's 1979 album Setting Sons features the lyric "Their mums and dads smoke Capstan non-filters/Wallpaper lives 'cause they all die of cancer".
Capstan is mainly sold in the United Kingdom, but also was or still is sold in Germany, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Bangladesh and Chile. [12] [13] [14]
Capstan was one of the tobacco companies to include advertising cards in their packs of cigarettes. Some of the collections featured were the cricket series featuring notable players (1907) [15] and the Australian rules football collections that includes depictions of club flags and colours in 1908 and 1913. [16]
W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons.
West is a German brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Imperial Brands.
Silk Cut is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Gallaher Group, a division of Japan Tobacco. The packaging is characterised by a distinctive stark white packet with the brand name in a purple, blue, red, silver, white or green square.
Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Products are marketed through social media, stealth marketing, mass media, and sponsorship. Expenditures on nicotine marketing are in the tens of billions a year; in the US alone, spending was over US$1 million per hour in 2016; in 2003, per-capita marketing spending was $290 per adult smoker, or $45 per inhabitant. Nicotine marketing is increasingly regulated; some forms of nicotine advertising are banned in many countries. The World Health Organization recommends a complete tobacco advertising ban.
Viceroy is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and British American Tobacco outside of the United States.
Doral is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Woodbine is a British brand of cigarettes which, as of 2019, is owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco. Woodbine cigarettes are named after the woodbine flowers, native to Eurasia.
Regal is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco.
Strand was a British brand of cigarettes which was owned and manufactured by W.D. & H.O. Wills.
Kensitas Club, is a Scottish brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Gallaher Group, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco. Before May 2017, Club cigarettes in UK came in a distinct blue packet with the CLUB name and a lion's head.
Barclay was an American brand of cigarettes manufactured by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the U.S. and by British American Tobacco outside of the U.S.
Embassy is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco.
Army Club was a British brand of cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Cavanders Ltd of London.
Old Gold is an American brand of cigarette owned and manufactured by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Cambridge is a brand of cigarettes, currently owned by the conglomerate Altria, and manufactured by Philip Morris International. In the U.K., Cambridge was manufactured by Rothmans International up until 1999.
Navy Cut Tobacco is a defunct brand of cigarettes, originally manufactured by Imperial Brands – formerly John Player & Sons – in Nottingham, England. The brand became "Player's Navy Cut". They were particularly popular in Britain, Germany and British Ceylon in the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century and were later produced in the United States. The packet has the distinctive logo of a sailor in a 'Navy Cut' cap.
Peter Stuyvesant is a brand of cigarettes currently owned by British American Tobacco and manufactured by the American Cigarette Company. In Australia and New Zealand, the brand is manufactured by Imperial Tobacco. The cigarette brand is named after Petrus Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherland, later New York State, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of surrounding states.
Kingsway is a cigarette brand, currently owned by conglomerated British American Tobacco, and manufactured by its subsidiary American Express of London/Ardath Tobacco Company. In Ireland, the brand was manufactured by W.D. & H.O. Wills, and in Malaysia, the brand is manufactured by Rothmans International.
Lexington is a Luxembourgish brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Landewyck Tobacco. In South Africa, it is sold by BAT South Africa, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.
Gunston is a South African brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the South African subsidiary of conglomerate British American Tobacco.
Media related to Capstan (cigarettes) at Wikimedia Commons
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