Marlboro

Marlboro is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. It is famous for its flavor, billboard advertisements and magazine ads of the Marlboro Man. In 2001 it was the most popular cigarette brand in the U.S.
Philip Morris, a London-based cigarette manufacturer, created a New York subsidiary in 1902 to sell several of its cigarette brands, including Marlboro. By 1924 they were advertising Marlboro as a woman's cigarette based on the slogan "Mild As May".

The brand was sold in this capacity until World War II when the brand faltered and was temporarily removed from the market. At the end of the war, three brands emerged that would establish a firm hold on the cigarette market: Camel, Lucky Strike, and Chesterfield. These brands were supplied to US soldiers during the war, creating an instant market upon their return. But Marlboro, when reintroduced with marketing that tapped into the new popularity of the romanticized cowboy in the 1950s, was able to increase sales by 5000%, returning as a formidable market force.
During the same era Reader's Digest magazine published a series of articles that linked smoking with lung cancer. Philip Morris and the other cigarette companies took notice and each began to market filtered cigarettes. The new Marlboro with a filtered tip was launched in 1955.
The brand is named after Great Marlborough Street, the location of its original London factory. Richmond, Virginia, is now the location of the largest Marlboro cigarette manufacturing plant.

Varieties

As of February 04, 2007:

* Reds (Full Flavor): Kings, 100s and 72s
* Medium: Kings and 100s (marketed as Marlboro Red & Gold in the EU)
* Lights: Kings, 100s, and 72s (marketed as Marlboro Gold in the EU)
* Ultra Lights: Kings and 100s (marketed as Marlboro Silver in the EU)
* Menthol: Kings, 100s and 72s
* Menthol Lights: Kings and 100s
* Menthol Ultra Lights: Kings and 100s
* Menthol Milds: Kings, 100s and 72s
* Menthol Smooth (new, released February, 2007)
* UltraSmooth: Kings
* Blend No. 27
* Marlboro Blend 28 (UK)
* Marlboro Blend 29 (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy,) * Marlboro Filter Plus (South Korea)
A US District Court decision on August 17, 2006 ruled that tobacco companies could no longer use terms like "'low tar,' 'light,' ultra light,' 'mild' or 'natural'", which they declared to be deceptive (since customers might think "light" or "ultra light" means a safer cigarette). Beginning in January 2007, the ruling stated, these product names would no longer be used. The companies were expected to change the names to standard "color" names: Marlboro Red, Marlboro Gold (Light), Marlboro Silver (Ultra Light). Those "color names" are already in use in the European Union, where use of potentially misleading names like "lights" was outlawed in 2005. However, in November 2006, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia allowed sales of "light" and "mild" cigarettes to continue while Altria filed an appeal.

Miscellaneous

* burn an estimated 25% faster than other top-selling premium brands such as Camel, Winston, Dunhill, and Player's. Philip Morris uses re-constituted sheet tobacco and processed stems as well as chemicals such as formaldehyde and ammonia to fill the cigarettes. All of the above are reasons for Marlboro burning faster.
* In the 1980s an urban myth spread throughout the United States and even Europe, that Marlboro packaging carried imagery related to the Ku Klux Klan. The myth held that the Klan owned all, or a major part of, the Philip Morris company, and that Philip Morris himself was involved with the organization. And the symbols on the sides of the Marlboro represented 'K,K,K', as well as Marlboro upside down being seen, by some, to read 'Orobl Jew'. Also, when the Marlboro pack is upside down, as you cover the top half of the letters, you can allegedly see an image portraying a man and a midget being hung. These allegations are unfounded - indeed to own even 1% of the company would require over $500 m, and Philip Morris was a British tobacco merchant.