Cigarettes in review: Introduction; Part 1: American
Introduction
‘Light’ cigarettes: Why are you smoking ‘lights’? Do you think they will only give you ‘light’ cancer?
Menthols: Why are you smoking menthols? If you smoke menthols you obviously are not interested in tobacco or smoking, so stop reading this now
Cloves: Why are you smoking cloves, are you a goth girl? Oh, you are? Never mind then.
'Generic' brands: Why are you smoking cigarettes that smell and taste like burning tires? If you are willing to risk disease from an activity, pay enough so that it is actually pleasurable enough to be worth doing.
Part 1: American
Marlboro Reds: I smoked these as a young lad. They provide a decent nicotine kick, and for a mass produced smoke have a middle of the road flavor with a harsh finish.
Marlboro 100’s: These are slightly smoother than Marlboro Reds. They are also longer, but not as longer as you might think, since part of the added length (and part of the added smoothness I suspect) stems from longer filters. I guess they are a slightly better smoking bargain. For some reason they seem less tough guy than Reds, so we mostly avoided them.
Camel Filters: I often smoked Camel Filters (box) without liking them much as they get sold in bars a lot. One day, after not smoking for nearly a month I purchased a soft pack of Camel Filters (it was on sale) and they tasted relatively great (isn’t this fascinating?), I realized (after years and years of smoking) that the box packs impart a cardboard flavor to the smokes they contain. Also, I’ve decided that the soft pack is slightly more badass than box. So now if I am smoking a domestic cigarette I smoke Camel Filters, soft pack.. A higher quality tobacco than Marlboro (though it says Turkish tobacco it is not really a Turkish style, which I will explain later), with a more complex and smoother flavor.
Camel Unfiltered: These short cigarettes are fun once and awhile. Frank Sinatra used to smoke them. Fewer people will want to mooch these off you compared to other cigarettes. While they are quite good compared to filtered mass produced cigarettes, they are inferior compared to the type of unfiltered smokes you can roll yourself, or imported unfiltered smokes like Sweet Aftons.
Camel Wides: I enjoy the larer diameter of these, but the tobacco in them is not as good as Camel regulars. They taste overly sweet and more chemical to me.
Kents: Everyone smokes these in John Cassevettes movies. I never smoked these regularly, and haven’t had one in years; I remember them having a slight plastic quality to their aftertaste.
Winstons: I would occasionally smoke Winstons during my Marlboro phase, for variety (I don't get it either). They weren’t bad, oddly I actually don’t like the new ‘improved’ natural Winstons that everyone claims are better at all, as they smell overly fragrant to me.
Parliament: These have those odd filters. Tolerable if someone gives me one, I see no reason to prefer them. I also don’t like cigarettes with white filters.
Lucky Strikes (unfiltered): Did you know when Lucky Strike’s were introduced they were a girl cigarette? Not as good as the similar sized Camel filterless, preferable to Kents, Winstons, and Parliments. Nice pack logo and slogan “It’s toasted!”.
Lucky Strikes (filtered): Not as good as Lucky Strikes unfiltered. Weak flavor.
Pall Mall (unfiltered): These unfiltered smokes are King Size, and have a large nicotine kick to them. They taste fairly good, but they are so overpowering and harsh on the throat that whenever I smoked them I would only do so for a week or two before switching back to Marlboros.
Old Gold Kings: Tom Waits used to smoke these. Actually not too bad a smoke, and they cost slightly less (or at least they used to) than the major brands.
‘Light’ cigarettes: Why are you smoking ‘lights’? Do you think they will only give you ‘light’ cancer?
Menthols: Why are you smoking menthols? If you smoke menthols you obviously are not interested in tobacco or smoking, so stop reading this now
Cloves: Why are you smoking cloves, are you a goth girl? Oh, you are? Never mind then.
'Generic' brands: Why are you smoking cigarettes that smell and taste like burning tires? If you are willing to risk disease from an activity, pay enough so that it is actually pleasurable enough to be worth doing.
Part 1: American
Marlboro Reds: I smoked these as a young lad. They provide a decent nicotine kick, and for a mass produced smoke have a middle of the road flavor with a harsh finish.
Marlboro 100’s: These are slightly smoother than Marlboro Reds. They are also longer, but not as longer as you might think, since part of the added length (and part of the added smoothness I suspect) stems from longer filters. I guess they are a slightly better smoking bargain. For some reason they seem less tough guy than Reds, so we mostly avoided them.
Camel Filters: I often smoked Camel Filters (box) without liking them much as they get sold in bars a lot. One day, after not smoking for nearly a month I purchased a soft pack of Camel Filters (it was on sale) and they tasted relatively great (isn’t this fascinating?), I realized (after years and years of smoking) that the box packs impart a cardboard flavor to the smokes they contain. Also, I’ve decided that the soft pack is slightly more badass than box. So now if I am smoking a domestic cigarette I smoke Camel Filters, soft pack.. A higher quality tobacco than Marlboro (though it says Turkish tobacco it is not really a Turkish style, which I will explain later), with a more complex and smoother flavor.
Camel Unfiltered: These short cigarettes are fun once and awhile. Frank Sinatra used to smoke them. Fewer people will want to mooch these off you compared to other cigarettes. While they are quite good compared to filtered mass produced cigarettes, they are inferior compared to the type of unfiltered smokes you can roll yourself, or imported unfiltered smokes like Sweet Aftons.
Camel Wides: I enjoy the larer diameter of these, but the tobacco in them is not as good as Camel regulars. They taste overly sweet and more chemical to me.
Kents: Everyone smokes these in John Cassevettes movies. I never smoked these regularly, and haven’t had one in years; I remember them having a slight plastic quality to their aftertaste.
Winstons: I would occasionally smoke Winstons during my Marlboro phase, for variety (I don't get it either). They weren’t bad, oddly I actually don’t like the new ‘improved’ natural Winstons that everyone claims are better at all, as they smell overly fragrant to me.
Parliament: These have those odd filters. Tolerable if someone gives me one, I see no reason to prefer them. I also don’t like cigarettes with white filters.
Lucky Strikes (unfiltered): Did you know when Lucky Strike’s were introduced they were a girl cigarette? Not as good as the similar sized Camel filterless, preferable to Kents, Winstons, and Parliments. Nice pack logo and slogan “It’s toasted!”.
Lucky Strikes (filtered): Not as good as Lucky Strikes unfiltered. Weak flavor.
Pall Mall (unfiltered): These unfiltered smokes are King Size, and have a large nicotine kick to them. They taste fairly good, but they are so overpowering and harsh on the throat that whenever I smoked them I would only do so for a week or two before switching back to Marlboros.
Old Gold Kings: Tom Waits used to smoke these. Actually not too bad a smoke, and they cost slightly less (or at least they used to) than the major brands.
Marlboros were also originally marketed to women being "mild as may" and having a red tip on the filtered one's to hide unfashionable lipstick smudges. They later introduced Marlboro Country and the Marlboro Man to assert a male brand. Many cigarettes were marketed towards women as it became acceptable for them to smoke. Luckies weren't just sold towards women though. They were said to be more mild and less irritating than others because of the fine tobaccos and toasting process and therefore healthier for you (until the government stopped it) They were the most popular in America in the 30's and because of being in WWII stayed popular through the 50's. Although they advertised the pack's color change from green to white in 42 as helping war materiel supply it was done mainly to cut costs and appeal to the feminine smoker.
ReplyDeleteHey, Pall Mall or Camel without Filter are the best Cigarettes you can buy! Im 49 years old and I ama German ! We have to pay for a Box of 19 Cigarettes 5 to 6 Euros! THATS A REAL RIP OFF!
ReplyDeleteAre you paying more than $5 per pack of cigarettes? I buy my cigs from Duty Free Depot and this saves me over 70% on cigs.
ReplyDelete