Cigarette pack

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On the left, a new Finnish Lucky Strike cigarette pack by a new EU directive with warning photo; on the right, an obsolete pack as red. Some countries, such as France, the United Kingdom and Australia, go further in their warnings (plain packaging). Vanhan ja uuden lainsaadannon mukaiset tupakka-askit.jpg
On the left, a new Finnish Lucky Strike cigarette pack by a new EU directive with warning photo; on the right, an obsolete pack as red. Some countries, such as France, the United Kingdom and Australia, go further in their warnings (plain packaging).

A pack or packet of cigarettes (also informally called fag packet in British slang; as in the idiom "back of a fag packet" or "fag-packet calculation") is a rectangular container, mostly of paperboard, which contains cigarettes. The pack is designed with a flavor-protective foil, paper or plastic, and sealed through a transparent airtight plastic film. By pulling the "pull-tabs", the pack is opened. Hard packs can be closed again after opening, whereas soft packs cannot.

Contents

Cigarette packs often contain warning messages depending on which country they are sold in. [2] In the European Union, most tobacco warnings are standardised. [1]

A patent has been granted for a cigarette package containing a container for disposal of cigarette butts. [3] [4]

Package size

Box of 400 Marlboro cigarettes (Munich, Germany, 2006) Marlboro warning impotence.jpg
Box of 400 Marlboro cigarettes (Munich, Germany, 2006)

Pack

The size of a pack is often regulated. Government agencies usually set a minimum pack size.

In Australia, the most common quantity per pack is 25, but some brands have 26 or 20 (the legal minimum), with 30, 40 and even 50 packs also sold.

In Canada, most packs sold have 25 cigarettes, but packs of 20 are also popular.

In many European countries, increases of cigarette tax can cause the quantity of cigarettes in the pack to change to achieve the same end price.

In Malaysia, the sale of packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes is prohibited.

In the United States, the quantity of cigarettes in a pack must be at least 20, with certain brands, such as Export As, coming in packs of 25.

In Ireland it is possible to buy cigarettes in packets of 33.

In the United Kingdom, brands are sold only in packs of 20; in May 2017, new laws restricting loose tobacco sales to multiples of 30g or 50g also outlawed the sale of 10-stick packs and branded packaging, introducing boxes which are a plain green color. [1]

A soft pack of Marlboro Gold Pack of Marlboro Gold Soft Pack.jpg
A soft pack of Marlboro Gold

The new packaging has the brand name in a basic typeface, with most of the packet dedicated to textual and photographic health warnings. While older vending machines sometimes dispense packets containing 16 or 18 cigarettes, the dimensions of the packaging are the same as the equivalent packet that contains 20. [5]

Carton

A carton of cigarettes usually contains 10 packs, totaling 200 cigarettes. [5] Some cartons contain twenty packs, totaling 400 cigarettes. [5]

Hard pack and soft pack

A hard pack is the usual style of paperboard packaging for store bought cigarettes, which consists of a relatively stable box. The flip-top hard pack cigarette case was introduced in 1955 by Philip Morris. [6] [7] This successfully prevents the crumpling of cigarettes when kept in a pocket or handbag. The hard pack is designed to make the smoker look at the brand name and logo on the top of the pack every time on opening, keeping the brand fresh in the consumer's mind and potentially increasing brand loyalty. [8]

Marlboro red flip top NZ.jpg
Flip-up top of a hard pack
North State.jpg
Soft pack

A soft pack is a box packaging made of thin paper, usually containing 20 cigarettes. Soft packs may be considered inconvenient as they rupture easily and cannot be resealed. They offer the immediate convenience of not having to open the package each time the smoker wants a cigarette. They require less physical 'pocket space' when fewer cigarettes remain in the pack. With American brands, cigarettes from a soft pack are usually a few millimeters longer than their hard-boxed counterparts.[ citation needed ]

Collecting

Cigarette packs are popular items among collectors. They are fine examples of industrial design and a good source for studies of social, cultural and marketing history. [9] Collectors usually base their collections on various criteria like cigarette brand, country of producer, time period, warning message, etc. Also, it's important for collectors whether the packages are empty or full. Empty packs are more common and cheaper than full ones. Full packs are considered to be rare and therefore are often more expensive, especially packs in original cellophane wrapping.

Collectible pack

Camel Collector's Pack Collector's Camel Pack 1918.jpg
Camel Collector's Pack

To encourage cigarette pack collectors, some cigarette packs were made to present a particular interest for collectors. There are cigarette packs labeled "collectible".

Some brands introduce promotional packs to bypass advertising laws. An example would be a limited time promotion where the pack is made from tin with the shape, purpose, and look of a cigarette case to entice potential buyers. They are distinguished by unique décor or are very old or they were removed from manufacturing for some reasons and consequently became rare.

Cigarette brands from 1920 to 1930

Wild Woodbine cigarette pack Wild Woodbine cigarettes, Musee Somme 1916, pic-121.jpg
Wild Woodbine cigarette pack

The most popular cigarette brands of this period were Player's Navy Cut, Woodbine, Capstan, Craven 'A', and Black Cat. Woodbines were cheap cigarettes aimed at working-class people while Craven 'A' was one of the earliest filter brands initially targeted at women. [9]

Cigarette brands from 1940s

The top-selling cigarette brands of the decade were Lucky Strike, Camel, Chesterfield, and Old Gold. [10] That was the time of growth for the whole tobacco industry: again cigarettes were included in the soldier rations during World War II.[ citation needed ]

Cigarette brands from 1950s

The top-selling cigarette brands of the decade were the same as in the previous one except that the no.1 was Camel. The other brands were Balto, Brunette, Encore, Gitanes, and Kent. Cigarettes were widely advertised on TV. [10]

Plain tobacco packaging

Tobacco packaging drives brand image to attract new consumers to their tobacco products and creates brand loyalty. To give stylish impact to tobacco packaging companies use different techniques like gold and silver foiling, embossing, perforating, debussing, raised ink printing, digital printing, and screen printing. In general, tobacco packaging plays a major role in advertising and promotion of Tobacco marketing.

Recent introduction of Plain packaging contributes to improving public health because young people told that plain packaging reduces the positive image of smoking and the possibility of stimulus related to the package design.

The introduction of plain packages was considered as the end of cigarette pack collecting by some collectors as it made the packs unattractive. The other collectors adapted to the new reality and included variations of warning messages as one of the criteria for basing their collections on.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette</span> Small roll of tobacco made to be smoked

A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opposite end. Cigarette smoking is the most common method of tobacco consumption. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette, but the word is sometimes used to refer to other substances, such as a cannabis cigarette or a herbal cigarette. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its usually smaller size, use of processed leaf, different smoking method, and paper wrapping, which is typically white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box</span> Type of container

A box is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small or very large and can be used for a variety of purposes, from functional to decorative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarillo</span> Rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked

A cigarillo is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown, tobacco-based paper. Cigarillos are smaller than regular cigars but usually larger than cigarettes. Cigarillos are usually made without filters, and are meant to be smoked like a cigar and not inhaled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carton</span> Type of domestic container

A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.

Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the Benson & Hedges name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British American Tobacco, or Japan Tobacco, depending on the region. In the UK, they are registered in Old Bond Street in London, and were manufactured in Lisnafillan, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, before production was moved to Eastern Europe in 2017.

Tobacco package warning messages are warning messages that appear on the packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products concerning their health effects. They have been implemented in an effort to enhance the public's awareness of the harmful effects of smoking. In general, warnings used in different countries try to emphasize the same messages. Warnings for some countries are listed below. Such warnings have been required in tobacco advertising for many years, with the earliest mandatory warning labels implemented in the United States in 1966. Implementing tobacco warning labels has been strongly opposed by the tobacco industry, most notably in Australia, following the implementation of plain packaging laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squround</span> Container with a shape between a square and a round tub

A squround is a container with a shape between a square and a round tub. It resembles an oval but is sometimes closer to a rectangle with rounded corners. These allow the contents to be easily scooped out of the container. The name is a portmanteau for "square round" (cartons), referring to a compromise between a square and a round carton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silk Cut</span> British brand of cigarettes

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardboard box</span> Type of packaging

Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term cardboard may refer to a variety of heavy paper-like materials, including card stock, corrugated fiberboard, and paperboard. Cardboard boxes can be readily recycled.

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.

Golden Virginia is a hand-rolling tobacco brand manufactured in Nottingham, England, by Imperial Brands, until 2016, and sold throughout Europe. It is a blend of fine-cut Virginia, burley, and oriental tobaccos. Golden Virginia first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1877, and it is currently sold in 30g and 50g pouches. The pouches have a zip-lock seal to keep the tobacco fresh along with a sticky tab and a packet of Rizla hand-rolling papers with a 30g pouch, and two packets with a 50g pouch.

Smoking in Ireland is banned fully in the general workplace, enclosed public places, restaurants, bars, education facilities, healthcare facilities and public transport. However, it is permitted in designated hotel rooms and there is no ban in residential care, prisons and in outdoor areas. Public opinion is in favour of the bans on smoking which are in place in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plain tobacco packaging</span> Legally mandated packaging of tobacco products without any brand imagery

Plain tobacco packaging, also known as generic, neutral, standardised or homogeneous packaging, is packaging of tobacco products, typically cigarettes, without any branding, including only the brand name in a mandated size, font and place on the pack, in addition to the health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps. The appearance of all tobacco packs is standardised, including the colour of the pack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardboard</span> Heavy-duty paper of various strengths

Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light brown in color, depending on the specific product; dyes, pigments, printing, and coatings are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elita (cigarette)</span> Latvian cigarette brand

Elita is a Latvian brand of cigarettes that was produced between 1967 and 2009 by the Latvian company "Rīgas Tabakas Fabrika" and later by British American Tobacco. According to the data submitted by the Latvian State Revenue Service, Elita was the most sold brand of filtered cigarettes in Latvia for about twenty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigarette packets in Australia</span>

Cigarette packets in Australia have undergone significant changes. Since 1 December 2012, all forms of branding logos, colours, and promotional texts are banned from cigarette pack designs. In turn they were replaced with drab dark brown packets and graphic images of smoking-related images to try to reduce the smoking population of Australia to 10% by 2018 from 15% in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Classics</span> Canadian cigarette brand

Canadian Classics is a Canadian brand of cigarettes, currently owned by Philip Morris International, and manufactured by its subsidiary Rothmans, Benson & Hedges

"Tobacco" is a segment of the HBO news satire television series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver about the tobacco industry. It first aired on February 15, 2015, as part of the second episode of the series' second season. During the eighteen-minute segment, comedian John Oliver discusses tobacco industry trends and practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Stuyvesant (cigarette)</span> Brand of cigarettes and Art Foundation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation of nicotine marketing</span> Regulations regarding the advertising of nicotine-containing products

As nicotine is highly addictive, marketing nicotine-containing products is regulated in most jurisdictions. Regulations include bans and regulation of certain types of advertising, and requirements for counter-advertising of facts generally not included in ads. Regulation is circumvented using less-regulated media, such as Facebook, less-regulated nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, and less-regulated ad types, such as industry ads which claim to discourage nicotine addiction but seem, according to independent studies, to promote teen nicotine use.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Press Association (19 May 2017). "Stricter cigarette packaging rules come into force in UK". The Guardian . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. Eschner, Kat (11 January 2017). "People Have Tried to Make U.S. Cigarette Warning Labels More Graphic for Decades". Smithsonian. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. "Cigarette packs with container for cigarette butts". Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  4. Patent for a cigarette packs with container for cigarette butts
  5. 1 2 3 "Cigarette Vending Packs". Licensed Trade Vending Supplies. Archived from the original on 13 October 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  6. Gene Borio. "Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1950–1999 – The Battle is Joined". Tobacco.org. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  7. Lewis, M. J.; Wackowski, O. (7 August 2005). "Dealing With an Innovative Industry: A Look at Flavored Cigarettes Promoted by Mainstream Brands". American Journal of Public Health. 96 (2). Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: 244–251. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.061200. PMC   1470487 . PMID   16380563.
  8. "History of the world in 52 packs | 10. The Marlboro flip top box". www.packagingnews.co.uk. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Vintage, retro & social history: articles and collectors' guides". www.retrowow.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  10. 1 2 "CIGARETTES". adage.com. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2019.