Cigarette brands from the 1960s - UK
This is a list of cigarette brands on sale in Britain in the 1960s.
This is a huge list, but around a dozen brands took more than 75% of the UK market.
In the 1960s the best selling cigartte brands were:
- Player's No 6
- Embassy Filter
- Woodbine
- Park Drive
- Player's Medium
- Benson & Hedges Special Filter
- Senior Service
- Kensitas
- Cadets
- Guards
- Piccadilly
- Weights
Some of these are ancient plain brands that go back to the early days of cigarette smoking and some new filter brands that were increasingly popular in the 1960s. The main reason people switched to filters in the UK was cost. Tobacco was taxed by weight and the dog end, which was mostly the filter, contained no tobacco. So filter brands were cheaper. There was also a perceived health benefit, although not a real one. In some cases the tobacco displaced by the filter was a more effective filter.
At the end of the 1960s there was a craze for small and miniature filter brands. Benson & Hedges Sovereign with its gold packaging tried to bring some of the prestige of its big brother Benson & Hedges Special Filter. Player's No 10 was a subminiature cigarette introduced in 1969 which already had a 4% market share in that year.
The cigarette market was very competitive. Some brands were short-lived.
These brands all lasted less than five years.
- Benson & Hedges Special Menthol Filter
- Conquest
- Diplomat Filter
- Dunhill Magnum
- Envoy
- Gallaher's No. 1 Extra Large Virginia
- Gold Crest Filter
- Grovsenor KS filter
- Strand
- Traveller
- Westbury
Strand was a well-documented marketing failure. Its tag-line "You're never alone with a Strand" was read by the public as "Strand - the cigarette for loners".
Brand | Type | Dates |
---|---|---|
Albany Filter | Medium filter | 1968-73 |
Anchor Tipped | Small filter | 1958-70 |
Arial | Small filter | 1962-7 |
Bachelor Tipped | Medium filter | 1960-75 |
Benson & Hedges Special Filter | King size filter | 1960- |
Benson & Hedges Special Menthol Filter | King size filter | 1967-69 |
Bristol Filter | Medium filter | 1955-74 |
Buckingham Tipped | Medium filter | 1964-75 |
Cadets Filter | Small filter | 1966- |
Cadets Plain | Small plain | 1962-67 |
Cambridge Filter | Medium filter | 1969-77 |
Camel Filter | King size filter | 1967- |
Camel Plain | Medium plain | 1935- |
Cameron Filter | King size filter | 1969-76 |
Capstan Full Strength | Medium plain | 1897-? |
Capstan Medium | Medium plain | 1893- |
Chesterfield Filter | King size filter | 1967-78 |
Chesterfield | Medium plain | 1935- |
Churchman's No. 1 | Medium plain | 1901-1976 |
Churchman's No. 1 Tipped | Medium filter | 1963-1972 |
Churchman's No. 2 Plain | Small plain | 1963-1972 |
Cogent Standard | Medium plain | 1943-78 |
Conquest | Small filter | 1967-69 |
Consulate Long Size | King size filter | 1959-78 |
Craven 'A' Cork Tip | Medium plain | 1928- |
Craven 'A' Filter | Medium Filter | 1957-74 |
De Reszke | Medium plain | 1954-69 |
Diplomat Filter | Small filter | 1968-9 |
Disque Bleu | Medium filter | 1959- |
Du Maurier Cork Tipped | Medium filter | 1931- |
Dunhill International Filter | King size filter | 1967- |
Dunhill Magnum | King size filter | 1968-70 |
Embasssy Filter | Medium filter | 1962- |
Embasssy Plain | Medium plain | 1962- |
Embasssy Gold Filter | Small filter | 1969- |
Envoy | Medium filter | 1965-9 |
Escort Filter | Medium filter | 1964-9 |
Everest Menthol Filter | Medium filter | 1961-77 |
Gallaher's De Luxe Medium Red | King size filter | 1962-71 |
Gallaher's Medium Blue De Luxe Plain | Medium plain | 1930- |
Gallaher's Mild Green De Luxe Plain | Medium plain | 1930- |
Gallaher's No. 1 Extra Large Virginia | King size filter | 1968-71 |
Gauloises Caporal Filter | Medium filter | 1959- |
Gauloises Caporal Plain | Medium plain | 1931- |
Gauloises Disque Bleu Filter | Medium filter | 1959- |
Gitanes Caporal Plain | Medium plain | 1931- |
Gitanes Filter | Medium filter | 1959- |
Gold Bond Filter | Medium filter | 1969- |
Gold Crest Filter | Small filter | 1966-70 |
Gold Flake | Medium plain | 1913- |
Gold Flake Filter | Medium filter | 1954-78 |
Gold Leaf Filter | Medium filter | 1966- |
Grovsenor KS Filter | King size filter | 1969-72 |
Guards Filter | Medium filter | 1958- |
High Kings | King size | 1969-75 |
Kensitas Filter | Medium filter | 1949-78 |
Kensitas Plain | Medium Plain | 1928- |
Kensitas Extra Size | Medium Plain | 1947-61 |
Kent Filter | King size | 1960- |
Lark Filter | King size | 1964 |
L & M Box Filters | King size filter | 1960- |
Lucky Strike Plain | Medium plain | 1935- |
Lucky Strike King Size Filter | King size filter | 1967- |
Marlboro Long Size Filter | King size filter | 1957- |
Matinee De Luxe Tipped | Small filter | 1954-68 |
Mayfair | Small filter | 1959-69 |
Nelson Filter | Medium filter | 1960-77 |
Olivier | Medium filter | 1956-73 |
Olympic Tip | King size filter | 1960-71 |
Pall Mall Filter | King size filter | 1967- |
Pall Mall King Size Plain | King size plain | 1961- |
Park Drive Filter | Small filter | 1958- |
Passing Clouds | Medium plain | 1874-1973 |
Park Drive Plain | Small plain | 1900- |
Peter Stuyvesant Filter Luxury Length | King size filter | 1969-76 |
Peter Stuyvesant KS Filter | King size filter | 1956- |
Piccadilly Filter De Luxe | Medium filter | 1962- |
Piccadilly Mild Filter | Medium filter | 1966- |
Piccadilly No 1 Plain | Medium plain | 1930- |
Player's Filter | Medium filter | 1964- |
Player's Medium | Medium plain | 1900- |
Player's Mild Filter | Medium filter | 1960-70 |
Player's Mild Navy Cut | Medium plain | 1907-76 |
Player's No 3 | Medium plain | 1901-77 |
Player's No 6 Filter | Small filter | 1965- |
Player's No 6 Plain | Small plain | 1965- |
Player's No 10 Filter | Small filter | 1968- |
Player's Perfectos | King size filter | 1964-76 |
Player's Special Mild Filter | Medium filter | 1964-76 |
Ramsey Special Plain | Medium plain | 1953-70 |
Rembrandt Filter De Luxe | Medium filter | 1959-75 |
Rembrandt International Filter | King size filter | 1968 |
Reyno Menthol Filter | King size filter | 1962- |
Richmond Filter | Medium filter | 1963-76 |
Richmond Plain | Medium plain | 1963-76 |
Rocky Mount Filter | Medium filter | 1960-78 |
Rocky Mount Mild Filter Tipped | Medium filter | 1966-78 |
Rothmans' Crown Filter | Medium filter | 1966-76 |
Rothmans' King Size Filter | King size filter | 1956- |
Rothmans' Pall Mall | King size filter | 1960-76 |
Senior Service Extra Filter | Small filter | 1968-73 |
Senior Service Filter | Medium filter | 1963-77 |
Senior Service Plain | Medium plain | 1934- |
Shipmate Medium | Medium plain | 1928-78 |
Silk Cut Filter | Medium filter | 1964- |
Solent Menthol Filter Tipped | Medium filter | 1960-1977 |
Sovereign Filter | Small filter | 1969- |
Special Virginia Filter | Medium filter | 1954-78 |
Special Virginia De Luxe | Medium filter | 1967-78 |
Sterling Filter | Medium filter | 1964- |
St Moritz Filter | King size filter | 1967- |
Straight Cut | Medium plain | 1944-64 |
Strand | Medium filter | 1960-64 |
Three Castles Filter | Medium filter | 1968- |
Three Castles Plain | Medium plain | 1878-1973 |
Traveller | King size filter | 1964-5 |
Weekend Virginia Filter | Medium filter | 1964-72 |
Weights Filter | Small filter | 1964-76 |
Weights Plain | Small plain | 1891- |
Westbury | King size filter | 1965-7 |
Windsor Virginia | Medium plain | 1960-71 |
Woodbine Export | Small plain | 1959-67 |
Woodbine Filter | Small filter | 1949- |
Woodbine Plain | Small plain | 1888- |
Note: Where there is no end date it indicates that the brand was still being sold in 1980.
Source: Document downloaded from Truth Tobacco Industry Documents called 'List of main cigarette brands 1965-79'.
By Steven Braggs, July 2021
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