Cigarette brands from the 1980s - USA
The best-selling cigarette brands in America in 1980 were:
- Marlboro - 17.7%
- Winston - 13.2%
- Kool - 8.8%
- Salem - 8.7%
- Pall Mall - 5.8%
- Benson & Hedges - 4.5%
- Camel - 4.3%
- Merit (filter, low tar) - 4.2%
- Vantage - 3.8%
- Kent - 3.3%
Source: How the brands ranked by Maxwell International Estimates, published July 1982.
There was a continuing trend of different versions of popular brands. There were no less than eight different versions of Malboro and Kool in 1980. There were seven different versions of Winston and Salem. For example, for Malboro there were the following versions:
- Marlboro hard pack
- Marlboro soft pack
- Marlboro 100 hard pack
- Marlboro 100 soft pack
- Marlboro Green (menthol)
- Marlboro Lights (low tar)
- Marlboro 100 Lights
- Marlboro Lights - hard pack
By 1989 Marlboro had established market dominance. Winston was still in the number two spot, but with a reduced market share.
- Marlboro - 26.3%
- Winston - 9.1%
- Salem (menthol) - 6.2%
- Kool (menthol) - 5.9%
- Newport - 4.7%
- Benson & Hedges - 3.9%
- Camel - 3.9%
- Merit - 3.8%
- Doral 3.8%
- Virginia Slims - 3.2%
Source: Maxwell International Estimates, published c1992.
Read more:
Cigarette smoking in the 1950s - USA
Cigarette brands in the 1960s - USA
Cigarette brands in the 1970s - USA
Cigarette smoking in the 1980s - UK
By Steven Braggs, October 2023
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