70mm cigarettes were the original cigarette size and are typically 2 3/4 inches long.

These were traditionally filterless cigarettes and were the dominant size before the popular filtered cigarette started to dominate the market. This size is still very popular with the roll-yourown community, but are less popular from a commercial standpoint. Once the filter tipped cigarette came out in the late 1950's, these started to decline in popularity. By the mid to late 1960's the filter tip cigarette had started to dominate the market, but these were still very popular due to the large amount of people who were used to smoking this size cigarette. These are still widely available, but not very popular in the modern day. 84mm cigarettes are also known as King size cigarettes and are typically 3 - 3 1/4 inches in length. These are the most popular size cigarettes and are the size right below 100mm. The overall length of the cigarette is longer than the 70mm due to a filter that is attached on one end of the cigarette. 100mm cigarettes are simply known as 100's and are typically 3 3/4 4 inches in length. These are the next size up from 84mm (king size) cigarettes and are longer in overall length. They have a longer filter than the 84mm cigarettes and can have slightly more tobacco depending on the manufacturer. 120mm cigarettes are simply known as 120's and are typically 4 3/4 5 inches in length. These are the next size up from 100mm cigarettes and are traditionally the longest commercially manufactured cigarette on the market. The big difference in this size cigarette is in the diameter. Generally speaking, these cigarettes have a smaller diameter making them appear 'slim' or thin. Many people are under the assumption that because it is longer, is has a lot more tobacco and this is usually not the case. Once again, this can largely depend on the manufacturer, but these will have just about the same amount of tobacco in it as a 100's cigarette. It just appears a lot slimmer and longer. These cigarettes were first targeted towards women because of the assumption that slimmer and longer was more elegant. These are still very popular in the modern day with both women and men. When purchasing accessories for your cigarettes, it is definitely important to know the differences in cigarette sizes. Sometimes a shorter length cigarette will work with accessories for a longer length cigarette, but not vice versa. So be sure to keep this in mind when shopping for all your cigarette accessories.

Master blenders at ITC roll out new flavours

Mohan Padmanabhan Kolkata , July 13 WHO says "Master blenders" exist only in the liquor industry. They exist in the branded cigarette lines too. ITC Ltd may have made a major foray into branded packaged foods and confectionery and apparels segments in recent times, but on the cigarettes front, its traditional area of core competence, new flavours have been thrown in on a value-added format. Talking to Business Line, Mr Kurush Grant, CEO of the Tobacco Division of ITC, said the company launched several innovative products in 2002-03 as part of the overall strategy to provide superior value for the customer. Some of these were `Gold Flake Kings Cool Mist' (in select markets) and Scissors Standard and Capstan Standard in the 5s form of packaging to enhance buying convenience. The specialist master blenders are on the job all the while to supplement the range of taste and flavour options for consumers, he pointed out. He said the latest offering by the master blenders of ITC's Tobacco Research Centre in Bangalore was the Wills Silk Cut, test marketed and finally launched in all large markets in midMay. Priced at Rs 23 for 10s, the product is aimed at the upper end of the Wills filter range. He said it carries a unique flavour and a perfect "AcTech" filter to match the overall get-up. Asked how the product was doing, Mr Grant said so far it has been highly satisfactory. "Our products are as good as any found in other parts of the world, and hopefully, would challenge the contrabands brought in through the illegal routes," said Mr Grant. Dispelling any doubts that may exist in the minds of the consumer, he categorically stated that the brand Silk Cut (named as an extension of the product descriptor) has been developed in-house to match global standards. "Two of our most recent products - `Insignia', at the very top of the line (priced at Rs 100 for a pack of 20s), and the `Wills Silk Cut', with its unique mild flavour and new filter, are developed by the Master Blenders from the House of Wills." Wills Insignia, launched in the super premium category, comes in a special shoulder box package. The objective, according to him, was to create a franchise in the consumers' minds as the finest global standard in cigarette quality. Test marketing of both the products were done at Bangalore and Pune, considered as true testing grounds for virtually any FMCG product in the country. Silk Cut is a common attribute of tobacco silkily cut, to create a mild flavour. Among the different flavours are the broad product categories like regular, milds, ultra milds and menthol. In sizes, the length varies between 100 mm and 59 mm, which is the micro segment. India Kings (Rs 75 per pack) and Classic (Rs 59 for 20s) are the brands which straddle the King Size segment (84 mm).

In the long size band, the products are Wills Navy Cut, Silk Cut and Navy Cut Lights. Larger than King Size is the highest excise slab, followed by the King Size, Long Size, Regular (Filter), Plain, less than 69 mm and 59 mm. Mr Grant put the excise slabs from the top at a 13:1 ratio. The longer the cigarette, the higher is the excise. Asked what was it about the flavours that made one brand different from the other, Mr Grant said this was a fine art developed by tracking the foods sector a lot.

INSIGNIA (ITC)
by Admin

Launched in 2003, in Mumbai, India, is the latest premium-segment cigarette from the Indian Tobacco Company. The previous was Wills Classic, by ITC, which is still Indias most leading cigarette brand till date.

These are longer than your standard Reds, or Kings, or even Classics, Dunhills, anything. These have a chocolaty taste to them. The pack itself opens in a very royal manner. It splits in half, with a golden sheath covering the cigarettes.

One cigarette usually lasts for 7 minutes, compared to 5 on a Classic, or 4 on a Dunhill. Where I stay, you dont find any Insignia cigarettes, even though it is Indian. I have to order it in from Mumbai myself. I dont know about its availability abroad. A complaint I had with the Classic Milds, was for some reason the filters would get oily, and also for some reason there is no insurance for Wills smokers, which sucks, as I smoke Wills too. Insignia is Wills, also.

Classic also used to taste funny. This ones taste is just mighty. Gold Flake, according to me, tastes like shit. I just cannot smoke those. Alright, these are what I smoke daily. I pay INR 1600, for a carton of these. 20 a pack, 10 packs in a carton. Its quite reasonable, as a carton of Dunhill Switch costs INR 1850. These are full body, full flavour, quality smokes, and people do watch in awe, as you draw out an Insignia. It is the most exclusive cigarette Ive seen yet.

I rate this a 9/10, 9 and not 10, because of its non-availability. But I highly recommend you try these out.

http://kesab-ilovesmoking.blogspot.in/

Clove-Flavored Cigarettes More Dangerous?

Oct. 10, 2009 By SARAH SARGENTI

Twenty-two-year-old college student Michael Bell is not the only young adult who began his smoking habit with clove cigarettes. And he knows why the Food and Drug Administration recently announced a ban on clove and other flavored cigarettes. "Cloves are totally a gateway cigarette, that's what I used to smoke in high school," said Bell, who now smokes regular cigarettes. "My friends and I would buy a pack of cloves and sit around and all smoke a pack." The sweet-smelling flavored cigarettes that leave a cooling sensation in your mouth have long been popular among teens and young adults, so the FDA's ban has left many teenagers troubled. "My girlfriend absolutely loves cloves and she was so upset," said Bell, of Scottsdale Ariz., who attends Boston College. "I know one kid who even bought six packs [before the ban] just to have because he loves them so much." Health care officials have long complained that flavored cigarettes lure young people into a lifetime of nicotine addiction. Two weeks ago, the FDA banned clove and all fruitflavored cigarettes as part of a national effort to reduce teen smoking in the U.S. "These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, commissioner of food and drugs, said when announcing the ban. It was the first major FDA action against tobacco manufacturers since being granted the right to regulate cigarettes under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by President Obama in June. The ban affects not just flavored tobacco, but flavored filters and cigarette rolling papers that contain "strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee,"according to a statement released by the FDA. The rules will make it next to impossible for teens to obtain or even roll their own, flavored cigarettes.

Effects of Clove Cigarettes

Tobacco experts welcomed the ban, especially on cloves. "In many respects, clove cigarettes are more dangerous," said Richard Hurt, a professor of medicine and director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Unlike fruit-flavored cigarettes, cloves release a sweet aroma that contains eugenol, which is a topical anesthetic, scientists say. Many dentists use eugenol to numb part of a patient's mouth. When smoking a clove flavored cigarette, the eugenol makes the upper airways of a smoker's lungs numb, allowing the smoker to inhale very dense cigarette smoke into the deepest part of their lungs. This is the characteristic that makes cloves appealing to new smokers. But, the anesthetic in cloves that allows for deep inhales is potentially more harmful as well. "Most officials agree that when young people smoke cloves, they can get hooked faster because of the anesthetic, eugenol, in the cloves," Hurt said. The only flavor additive left out of the ban is menthol, the most popular, leaving many tobacco experts questioning the extent of the ban. "Getting rid of the flavor additives is a good thing; the only elephant in the room is menthol," said Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine and director of the University of California San Francisco's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.

Negative Publicity Flavored cigarette is the product innovation that has taken place in recent years. It has increased the consumption of tobacco among the adult people. Famous flavored cigarette brands like Camel Exotic Brand, Salem Silver Label and Kool Smooth Fusions have attracted the concern of youth in a short time period (Lewis & Wackowski, 2006). According to the advocates of Public Health, flavored cigarettes have also increased the health risk among the adult group. It is stated by the advocates that tobacco use is indirectly encouraged by these types of flavored

cigarettes. According to the food and drug administration (FDA), flavored cigarettes are also harmful for the health of people as like unflavored cigarettes. It is stated in this negative publicity, that flavored cigarettes is encouraging the smokers to start smoking by masking the bitter taste of tobacco. Adult people are using flavored cigarettes three times more in comparison to the regular smokers of normal cigarettes. It is referred in the statement that illness and death frequency in the U.S among adults is increasing due to the use of flavored cigarettes, so it is useful to ban the flavored cigarettes (Guidance to Industry and FDA Staff: General Questions and Answers on the Ban of Cigarettes that Contain Certain Characterizing Flavors (Edition 2), 2009). It is stated in the comment that younger people assume that flavored cigarettes are not harmful due to which they have increased the use of this product that is influencing their health. Marketing strategies Consumer Behavior 5

To handle the negative publicity, it is essential to use some strategic marketing tools that results into a positive word of mouth to create a positive publicity in the market. In order to counter the negative publicity, I might have used some competent tools. These are as follows: Positive appeal: Marketing strategy for flavored cigarettes might have done by including a positive appeal in the advertising message for flavored cigarettes (Hansen, 2005, December). By using this strategic tool, I might have countered that negative publicity. Strategic message content: Message content of the flavored cigarette add might be

developed in such a manner that focused over the ingredients of cigarette. The content of a message might have included the statement which stated that flavored cigarette is not harmful. Counter arguments: Antismoking campaign for the normal cigarette might have also used to counter the negative publicity or comment over the flavored cigarette. This tactic might have enhanced positive market image for the flavored cigarette (Lancaster & Reynolds, 2005). By using this tool, a positive word of mouth for flavored cigarette might have developed. Campaign development: Campaign plays a crucial role during the time of negative publicity. I might have developed a campaign based on a socially responsible theme. In the message of campaign, social concern of the flavored campaign may have covered in order to create a positive publicity for the innovative product. Therefore, it can be inferred that by using these strategic marketing tools, I might have encountered the negative publicity posted over the flavored cigarette.