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This week, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act – an act which outlaws flavored cigarettes (like clove) and the use of terms such as “mild” or “light”. There is definitely irony in this as Obama is known to smoke. In memory of yesteryear when cigarette advertising was everywhere, we have compiled this list of amusing (and probably shocking to many people) vintage cigarette posters. Many of the images were sourced from WellMedicated – a link is at the bottom and we recommend you visit the site for more vintage posters (not just smoking-related). As always, click the image for a larger version.
Her throat may be safe but she looks like she has scarlet fever!
For those who don’t want to click the image, it says: “Women began to smoke, so they tell me, just about the time they began to vote”.
I am not sure that “blowing” in your girlfriends face is going to get you very far…
How many women here would fall in behind a guy who smelt of stale smoke?
It is in fact true that in the past many doctors would “prescribe” smoking to pregnant women as a safer alternative to medicines in the control of blood pressure.
You have to love the urgency in this poster as the doctor is woken in the early hours of the morning to deal with a cigarette crisis.
I think they screwed up with this ad – he looks more like a demon than a happy smoker to me.
I must confess, as a smoker I would appreciate these for Christmas – especially at today’s prices!
Not just a smoking ad – but a racial stereotype! God knows how this was meant to entice people to take up the habit.
Here is a doctor in the field who not only boosts your health – he boosts your morale: with a pack of camels!
Okay – this one isn’t funny – it’s bloody scary!
Believe it or not, the Nazis were the first to launch nation-wide anti-smoking campaigns. The translation of this poster is: “Attack vices rather than complain about ‘burdens.’ 2 million KdF cars [the Volkswagen] up in smoke. Excessive use of tobacco costs the German people 2.35 billion marks annually, enough for around 2 million KdF cars, or enough gas for those cars to drive 50 billion kilometers (not million, dear proofreader)! We need to rationalize our people’s economy!” [Source]
Sources: 40 Vintage Tobacco Advertisements (a must see site for many more vintage posters),
June 27th, 2009 at 1:34 am
blowing smoke in a womans face…that one is hilarious i think i’m gonna try that at the bar and get some, hell yeah
June 27th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Ban the dreaded weed I say
June 27th, 2009 at 1:35 am
haha i just quit
June 27th, 2009 at 1:36 am
Wait, are you telling me smoking is bad for you? That it can even kill????? Soon you will be telling me man walked on the moon.
June 27th, 2009 at 1:42 am
i love having a cigarette after huggin a native with a tomahawk, its the best for the aftertime…
June 27th, 2009 at 1:50 am
How can Obama pass that bs act. What will I smoke now? I guess I have to stop being a wimp and smoke regular cigs. Thanks obama, way to keep kids from smoking…? And forcing the rest of us to smoke plain old cigarettes. Why don’t they just make cigarettes completely illegal because a government agency wants to force me to be healthy. To Amsterdam!
June 27th, 2009 at 1:54 am
When I went to Ireland, I found an empty pack of cigarettes on the ground. I picked it up and was amazed to see that the warnings are much more intense than anything you will find in America.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:06 am
Your T-zone tells you…
June 27th, 2009 at 2:22 am
We’ll miss you MJ… oops… wrong list :p
June 27th, 2009 at 2:24 am
“I must confess, as a smoker I would appreciate these for Christmas – especially at today’s prices!”
~~Jamie … you smoke?… and sing?? How on earth?? I couldn’t do that… although I do smoke… I can’t carry a tune in a basket.
~~When I first took up smoking.. both my dad and step-mom smoked like a chimney… I loved the Virgina Slims ads… that what I switched too and still smoke.
~~ In the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “The 6th Day” smoking is illegal… Sadly, I think we’ll be there someday. Even if I didn’t smoke, I would never wish it on smokers to not be able to smoke.
~~So… LET’S TAKE A POLL … how much is everyone paying for a PACK / CARTON of cigarettes where you’re from?
In Sumter, SC I pay about $3.89 / $33.00 U.S. dollars .. needless to say.. I can make a carton last two weeks.. or more.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:26 am
i smoked before but stopped after 3 months due to difficulty in breathing.. darn it.. well, at least i can say i’m healthy now.. ü
June 27th, 2009 at 2:28 am
@dbrownl
Just dont try it with a bikers girlfriend
(Just saying, cause you are going to the bar)
June 27th, 2009 at 2:39 am
the number 8 is totally funny!
hahaha! blowing to women’s face is funny!
i’m not a smoker! what does cigarrete smokers feel when they smoking?
how can be it very addictive?
i’m curious but i dont want to try because if i became addictive in a certain thing or habit… it is guaranteed that i will never stop it!
June 27th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Why did Michael Jackson quit the cub scouts?
He was up to two packs a day!
June 27th, 2009 at 3:05 am
heh…. you should the cigarette packs in Singapore- aside from the warnings- the flap contains lurid graphics of lung cancer, gangrene, throat cancer, and cigarette aborted babies- that and the price of cigarettes (about US$ 7.50 a pack) is enough to make a bloke quit
June 27th, 2009 at 3:21 am
Love Vintage Ads, a good and funny list!
June 27th, 2009 at 3:24 am
the Nazis didnt reli give a shit about the health affects of smokin… i dont even think they were realy known then… they were trying to create autarky and foreign tobacco imports were severely distrupting the process.
oh and funnily enough in the end they just kept the money that people had saved for a KdF-wagen (it was a saveing scheme so ppl could be guaranteed a car) and spent it on munitions lol
June 27th, 2009 at 3:33 am
In Ireland a pack of Malboros cost 8.50 euro about
(11.94 USD)and the price is rising constanly..
And in Thailand they cost 1.00 ero.. (1.46 USD)..
HOW FREAKING ANNOYING!!!
intersting list thought..:)
June 27th, 2009 at 3:37 am
About no. 9: There’s actually a lot of truth to it. The tobacco industry successfully managed to link itself to the women’s rights movement in the beginning of the 20th century. If you were a women and cared about women’s rights, you’d smoke. Cigarettes became a symbol of the whole movement.
And I think we still have remnants of that in culture today. Smoking is still a sign of women’s independence – I mean, who can imagine a femme fatale who doesn’t smoke?
June 27th, 2009 at 3:55 am
i live in Australia, and having to work occasionally on the smoke counter in a supermarket makes me sick now, our cigarette packets have all the images as discribed in #15’s message.
now theres ads on tv with them showing all these things in video footage. i put down my cigarettes after watching those
June 27th, 2009 at 3:58 am
I remember way back in the 70’s a friend of a friend was heavily into the anti-smoking campaign. I shook my head thinking the campaign would never ever go anywhere – futility.
At that time people were being urged (by smokers, in particular) to use common courtesy. A smoker should have their rights to smoke, but if a non-smoker was being bothered they should politely ask the smoker to temporarily refrain.
This friend of a friend that was very much into the anti-smoking campaign ended up in court. He was asthmatic and so he tried the politeness technique. In a restaurant he was seated at the counter next to a smoker, he politely informed the smoker of his health issue and then asked if she wouldn’t refrain. She gave him a snooty “no”.
Well, of course she gave a stranger a snooty “no”. What the heck kind of planet do you think we are running here?
The technique of politely asking was born in the think tanks of cigarette advertisers, I’ll betcha. A good temporary diversion. They probably sat around and thought of words that rhymed with courtesy.
Well, this friend of a friend acted just like the average resident of planet earth would. He returned the **curt** “no” with a cup of coffee to the sweater. Can you say **court**?
Courtesy, curt, court.
“Courtesy and class go hand in hand, smoke Virginia Slims”
June 27th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Very good list.
Blow it in her face – Awesome !!!
Anti Smoking campaign by Nazi – takes the cake
June 27th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Is it just me, or is that Flying Dutchman ad at no.7 not just plain stupid but also slightly phallic? Nah, probably it’s just me and I’ve just showed everybody I have a filthy mind!!
June 27th, 2009 at 4:40 am
I feel like a fag.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Astraya…..always liked you, but this is the first time you’ve made me laugh out loud. Thanks.
kel. I’m in Ireland alot. Need smokes?
Methinks, in America anyway, it oughta be a property
rights issue. “I, as the bar owner, decree it is a smoking bar.” Those thinking otherwise have the right to do so in THEIR bar.” Is this hard to understand?
Restricting advertising for a LEGAL product is unConstitutional. (Virginia Slims, Winston Cup etc)
Yeah. I know. Bring it on…..but DO NOT babble about
MY Constitution unless you understand it and it applies`to you. Thank you.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Is it just me, or is there something oddly homoerotic about number 2? Two big, strong, chiseled men (one shirtless) grapple, legs entwined, pulling their faces closer together…
June 27th, 2009 at 5:09 am
I can recall my late father smoking Mills filters and you bought them in a metal tin.
We used to collect them and put our fishing hooks inside.
The other brand of ciggs that comes to mind is Westmenster 85 – and if my memory serves me correctly it was the only ciggs you could buy in 50s.
Thanks JF.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:22 am
@astraya (24): I am at a party and have smoked two lovely packs already – in addition to drinking three bottles of wine
June 27th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hahahaha… it’s funny how (some) society has completely backpedalled on this.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:42 am
The clown one is just creepy, how on earth would that make you start smoking?
June 27th, 2009 at 5:45 am
They’re so lame
June 27th, 2009 at 5:47 am
#25 Matt1224,
In the next state over a bar owner lined his bar with flammable urethane foam and hired a band that set off fireworks in the bar. Killed one hundred patrons.
Property Rights trumps? His bar, after all.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I started smoking when I was 15. I quit the day I found out I was pregnant and that has been 2 1/2 years ago. I have smoke on a few occasions but they are very few and far between. I think though if I were the president, especially now, I would smoke. It’s funny I used to crave a smoke after eating but now I find myself wanting one when I’m driving. Must be the stress from traffic.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:50 am
As a non-smoker, I freaking hate cigarettes and pretty much think they are pointless. I mean if you are going to ruin your health and body, may as well get high off it. Switch to weed.
That being said, the Anti-Smoking act that was passed in the US is a sham. The nickname for it here in the States is the Phillip-Morris Monopoly Act. In essence, this bill will put out of business any small company that produces tobacco products as it has banned everything except what Phillip-Morris makes. Phillip-Morris, in an astounding move, was the only tobacco producing company to support this bill.
A little fishy? You bet! Way to go capitalism!
June 27th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Hell yeah .. Nazis rule
Heil Der Fuehrer
June 27th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Cigarettes are like motorcycles. They both make you look cool but they will end up KILLING YOU
June 27th, 2009 at 6:14 am
actually faketree78 weed is much less harmful to your body then tobacco cigerettes so i guess if you want to ruin your body AND get high do heroin or cocaine
June 27th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Great list! I like seeing these olden pictures. I have a book filed with advertisments and such that are through the ages. It was hilarious seeing ads from early 1900’s and the crap they put in them.
Now saying that…what will our grandchildren think about our ads?
I used to smoke as well. Very happy that I quit. It took tries to finally make it (along with artifical help such as the patch, gum and a pill) but I did it!
@astraya (24): That was perfect! Thanks for making my morning.
@FallacyFallacy (26): Nope. I got the same exact impression of that picture. They were a little too close in that picture. I guess the cigarette was for “after”.
June 27th, 2009 at 6:37 am
When I was a little hippie kid high school wannabe, I smoked clove cigarettes all the time!
June 27th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Jamie- You are such a party animal! Wish I were there instead of here taking a break from housework… Although I have found that a little alcohol DOES make laundry WAY more fun
June 27th, 2009 at 7:22 am
hahah- i’m still pretty partial to clove ciggies- kreteks in the vernacular.
my brand is Gudang Garam
June 27th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I love to smoke, I love to eat red meat and I only eat meat that comes from cows that smoke. Special cows that have voiceboxes.
June 27th, 2009 at 7:40 am
I hate when people smoke. (all though I like the smell of an unopened ciggarette) It is such a nasty habit that i have seen my relatives suffer and die through. I promised myself I will never ever ever pick up cigarette smoking. Its gross ruins your skin teeth voice and eventually a disease from and coughing 24/7 who wants to deal with that???? These pictures on the ads are frightfully scary they all look happy and beautiful. YEAH RIGHT! Toxins in their bodies. No wonder everyone smoked back them.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I can’t deal with cigarette smoke. It makes me gag, my stomach contract, and I want to throw up. I live in Virginia so I’ll be quite happy come December. Smoking will be banned indoors around the 21st.
#25 Matt1224: Despite this I do agree with the property rights thing. I can’t patronize a bar with heavy smoke so I miss out with my friends sometimes but I am quite pleased with the new law itself despite my convictions and I’m sure not complaining. But I wouldn’t want someone imposing such restrictions on my establishment if I were them.
Best anti-smoking ad? The clowns. Freaky as hell.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I’m not a smoker and never plan to be…I’m only 16 after all. I know all the bad side effects; health class usually tends to exaggerate those to scare you off. But man, these vintage posters are AMAZING! They are so convincing, especially the one with the “Doctors smoke Camel” slogan. They actually make me want to go out and get a smoke! Not that I ever would, but this just makes me think about how these simple posters are so much more effective than a lot of our million-dollar budget commercials nowadays. Bring back the posters advertisers! Nostalgia is good!
June 27th, 2009 at 8:18 am
@oouchan (38): Arghhhhh! Crack out the miiiind bleeeeach!!!!
June 27th, 2009 at 8:24 am
I’m a social smoker and I really enjoy cloves….this is bullshit man!!…I’m pissed!!
June 27th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Re: 28
jfrater, you’re at a party, drinking 3 bottles of wine, and you’re posting comments onto your website? LAME!
Move out of the corner and go talk to a woman.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Smokes in Alberta,Canada are about 10.00 a pack, or 65.00 for a carton of 8 packs. I remember when I thought 2.50 a pack was crazy expensive. We`ve also had the smoking by-laws in effect for a few years, and now people are pretty much used to it.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Guess who also smokes around christmas!
http://www.imagepoop.com/image/4782/Santa-Claus-Smokes-Lucky-Strikes.html
June 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am
@todd (48):
Dude, at least he’s at an alcoholic party! The last three I’ve been to, I was the only one in the room to be of double digit age…
Those better be decent bottles of wine, Jamie, since (for the time being) I will live vicariously through you, sir.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:02 am
instead of the U S banning flavored cigarettes (but keeping the Menthol & Mint made by Phillip Morris) why don’t we just put the warning labels & pictures described in the posts above on the packs? oh-i know-it’s too graffic for children…but wait…children shouldn’t be smoking cigarettes anyways…circular reasoning anyone???
i have been a loyal Djarum smoker since i was 16. i simply can’t stand regular cigarettes. cloves allowed me to enjoy a smoke, and are pleasant smelling. i swear, if another drunken idiot comes up to my at the Billiard Club and asks me “whacher schmokin der, sweetie? incense?” i’m going to break is rack.
i dunno gang…i kind of had a distant appreciation of Obama…but to allow PM to continue to make Menthol & Mint cigs but ban cloves seems to me to be a bit of a bad PR move to the indonesian tobacco/clove farmers…
the worst thing? now this ban will only make such cigarettes more appealing to rebellious teens.
why don’t they ban flavored alcohol? it should all be whiskey, scotch, or vodka. none of that sugarcane sweet rum, or the fermented grape juice known as wine. no cider, either. because that appeals to children, you know. & we don’t want children drinking alcohol either.
rtr
June 27th, 2009 at 9:04 am
oh-and this-
how can we ever expect Obama to legalize weed if he’s banning flavored cigs?
rtr
June 27th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Not to preach excessively, but I am so glad I quit five years ago. And I loved smoking (tobacco, good cigars, and the Holy Herb), and will freely admit that deep inside I still do; it just can’t be for me anymore. I smoked for thirty-three years, putting me well within the category of high risk for cancer; so far (thank you, God) I seem to have dodged that bullet. I also sing, and after five years off the weed I find all my high notes are back, so I can do Sting tunes and a whole bunch of other high range stuff again. Plus my physical endurance is coming back, so I can swim longer, walk more, and run up and down the stairs of my house more. (Helps, because I have a music studio on the second floor and an electronics workshop in my attic. Big fun!) I don’t look down on smokers, and certainly I get the whole smoking thing. But folks, if you can quit, do it. You will be amazed daily at how much better you feel.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:12 am
The ad in number 1 says that camels were the most popular cig in the service. The reason for this was that k rations had 2 camels in them. So, if you were not hooked before, you certainly were by the time you got out.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:16 am
@ringtailroxy (52):
Not exactly the topic rtr was going for but this really has been bugging me for a while…
Are female pool players STILL that scarce that a woman at a pool hall isn’t there to practice but to get hit on guys? There was one place I tried out and gave out two phone numbers (both hopefully fake since I hadn’t memorized the local dump line yet) because the guys would not give up. I just want to take care of my game. I miss my old pool hall that was filled with old leaguers who couldn’t care less if there was some estrogen in the room.
rtr – “now this ban will only make such cigarettes more appealing to rebellious teens.”
That’s exactly what I was thinking when I heard about this. They did something along these lines years ago with banning Joe the Camel because the cartoon appealed to kids. Was there any evidence that it was really that influential?
June 27th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Here’s an online exhibition at Stanford of this very thing:
http://lane.stanford.edu/tobacco/index.html
Be forewarned: you can get stuck browsing this site for hours.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I don’t think that Obama passing the law is hypocritical; just because I smoke doesn’t mean that I want anyone else to take up the habit. Even if it prevents only one or two kids from picking up a pack, it’s worth it.
Here in Canada we have a permanent anti-smoking campaign – all of our smoke packs have disturbing images and messages that take up over 1/2 the available space on the package.
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/apr/06_0024.htm
The price is also prohibitive, over 10 bucks a package in most provinces or 60 dollars a carton. Of course our government hasn’t quite figured out that when they raise the cost of cigarettes too much everyone buys bootleg smokes. Now that many of the reserves are manufacturing their own product, there is no need to smuggle across the border (good thing too, we almost had a native/police war previously); it’s much easier to smuggle them off the reserve. Indian smokes are around 20 bucks a carton from the bootlegger but if you want to travel to the reserve, they can be had for about 11 bucks if you buy 10 or more cartons. Quality isn’t consistent but for 1/3 the price – Who cares?
June 27th, 2009 at 9:35 am
@redcaboose (55): My Dad started smoking while in the service for exactly this reason, free cigs in his rations. He quit when he started having kids.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:39 am
@cazzababes (30): It could be that the clown picture isn’t an advertisement, as there’s no written copy or image of a brand. Anybody know?
June 27th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Maybe this was on an older list, I can’t remember, but how about the Flintstones cigarette TV comercial? It doesn’t fit this list but it’s too funny.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:53 am
@ringtailroxy (53): The Federal government won’t even consider legalizing weed until at least half of the states do so beforehand. And legalizing is way different than decriminalizing or making it available for medical purposes only. We’re a long way from federally legalized weed.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Do what your doctor tells you
June 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
#42 made me LOL… I am also a Dennis Leary fan
I quit smoking for almost 3 years and have recently taken it back up. There’s nothing like a smoke to sooth that “one nerve”. Smokers will relate to that.
Here in Kennwick, Washington (in the good ‘ol US of A) I am now paying $8.22 per pack… good thing about these prices is that it makes me ration more and a pack lasts alot longer than it did before.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:30 am
alright, more power for the ever expanding federal government, not to mention the FDA.
i just love having someone else tell me what i can and can’t do.
god knows cigarettes are very harmful, but i can’t believe that law passed.
what an assault on my civil liberties.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:56 am
# 64 Lynn in Oregon 8.22 a pack wow that is expensive – here in the RSA I pay 23 south african rands for a pack of 20 Chesterfields.
The USA – RSA exchange rate at the moment is approx. 9 to one so ja its very expensive over their.
Do you guys grow bananas over their – it might be an option to roll your own ciggs.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I rarely smoke, but I do love cloves and I am really going to miss them. But what I want to know is when weed is going to be decriminalized.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:02 am
@bucslim (42): That shit will put some hair on your chest!
June 27th, 2009 at 11:10 am
It would be alot cheaper (and better for me) to just smoke the bananas!
June 27th, 2009 at 11:20 am
When I smoked cigs it was so good,I did it for 30 years.
After CABG x 4 + a high class pacemaker I quit. Ain`t ya proud ?
Im not a self righteous X- smoker. But if you quit now, your life will be less complicated.
Premium cigs here in Arkansas are between $50-$60 a carton (10 packs).
June 27th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Cloves go on a baked ham not in a cigarette.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:24 am
well, told my GF who is an avid Djarum black smoker… and she flipped. (she doesn’t have a tv or read newspapers)
so she boogied her hippie ass to her local cigar shop and was told not to worry about the ban on flavored cigs…
because the companies will simply package cloves in packs or tins of 12 and call them cigars, and the cigarette tax doesn’t apply to cigars, so they will even be a little cheaper!
rtr
June 27th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
ahh the good old days when your bussiness was yours and everyone left well enough alone. Now today nearly every country in the world is anti-smoking, they spend great amount of money on it and for what? for health? a majority of the people live in cities so it dosent matter what they inhale its still not healthy. These campaigns have lead smokers to feel like black sheep in a way because of their choice. I say it is a persons choice to smoke and everyone should leave them alone, its their body, their health.
thank you chi
June 27th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
The mother of a friend of mind once told me that when you went to the doctor years ago he’d actually offer you a cigarette!
Oops…forgot to say great post! Looking forward to your next one.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
It’s only a matter a time now that the kids will realize how cool it is to smoke cigars.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I rarely smoke, and even then it’s usually a normal marlboro, but this bill makes me furious. Flavored cigarettes are enjoyable, and no more unhealthy than normal cigarettes. Why should we ban them? For the kids? Let me get this straight: you’re arbitrarily banning something millions of people enjoy because you think (*think*, as in there is no proof of it) that it might stop some kids from smoking. Yeesh.
I’m reminded of a liquor law passed here in Utah. Utah already has bizarre liquor and tobacco laws- they do all they can to basically outlaw anything that is against the mormon church that runs the state. So! We have state run liquor stores for actual liquor, wine and worthwhile beer. The only thing you can get in a grocery store is reduced alcohol beer. The liquor stores, by the way, are closed Sunday, every holiday (federal or no) and arbitrarily when the state feels like it. Last year, the state decides that the reduced alcohol flavored malt beverages (smirnoff ice, mike’s hard lemonade, etc.) sold in the grocery stores where enticing children to drink. There where all kinds of sensationalist news stories about it. So they outlaw it in the grocery stores. For several months you couldn’t buy the stuff anywhere. Now they sell it in the liquor stores, at the still reduced alcohol content, for over twice the price. Because of Utah’s backassward liquor laws, a six pack of any beer or flavoured malt beverage will cost you at least $12. All “for the children” supposedly.
I thought Utah was backward, but one day I’d move to a better state- now I see our own federal government passing equally stupid laws. There’s no escape!
June 27th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Switch to pipes, folks. Costs me about three or four bucks a week for tobacco.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Here in San Diego we pay anywhere from 4.85 – 5.70 a pack, depending on where you go to buy it.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I’ve never been a smoker, but I do work in a grocery store, so I’ll add to the info for cig prices. In Northern California, most packs are $6 to $7. People complain EVERY time they buy one. I have no idea how much a carton costs, because nobody ever buys them from us! I assume that most people are getting their cigarettes elsewhere, at cheaper prices, but I have no idea where that would be.
I used to have no problem with people smoking, as long as I didn’t have to breathe in their smoke. But now I think about the cost of healthcare for these people when they get cancer or emphysema, and wonder how much of their medical bills will be paid by taxpayers. Most of them will be older by that time, so a lot of it will be on Medicare. And what about low-birth-rate babies that need special care before they can go home? I bet a large part of that is paid by the taxpayers, also.
So… maybe I DO have a problem with smoking… Maybe smokers should have to sign a waver that says taxpayers will never have to pay for their smoking-related illnesses. THEN I’d have no problem.
June 27th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
BooRadley: and then what? we get fat people to sign the same type of waiver? or do we only exclude the morbidly obese from coverage? and what about those who engage in other dangerous behaviours? drinkers? drug addicts? skateboarders? Besides, at least with smoking, the taxes garnered at all levels of the industry more than cover the related health costs.
June 27th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Good thing Obama is making sure to focus on the important issues. You know, like cloves.
/sarcasm
June 27th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
@jfrater (82): Pure conjecture. You have no idea how difficult it can from one person to the next. Some people may have major chemical withdrawal which is not ’simply because people say that its impossible’.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
JF has a stalker. @82
June 27th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
GOOD MORNING JAMIE!! HOW’S THE HANGOVER??!!
June 27th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
He`s now in neverneverland HA!
June 27th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
(tongue in cheek)
Of course, God hates fags!!!!
(end tongue in cheek)
June 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
http://mediafetcher.com/article_full.php?id=34671 I don’t smoke but I can’t argue with Hick’s logic.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I have worked in various gas stations here in Missouri for the last 6 years. I have busted my fair share of underage kids trying to buy smokes and 9 times out of ten they were trying to buy either Marlboro Reds or Camel Lights. Once in a while they would be after something like Kools or Newports. It was very rare for anybody to buy cloves or the other flavored ones, much less someone underage. Oh and for everyone comparing prices the prices around here vary anywhere from 4 bucks to 6 buck for a pack of Reds. Camels usually run about fifty cents less. And god help you if you smoke newports those are anywhere from 5 to 8 bucks a pack.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
@catchick (10):
here in PA marlboro’s are about $5.63 or so at the cheaper places. but i usually make the 1 hour round trip to WV and pay about $45 for a carton which i make last for 3 weeks.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
mom424 (80):
You’re right, I didn’t really think the thing through.
Mea culpa.
June 27th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
LOL LOL!
June 27th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I’ve smoked for 30+ years, still do.
The only time I quit was when I was pregnant with my daughter, and then (foolishly) started again.
I’ve attempted to quit several times, going cold turkey, using the patch, and nicotine gum. By far the worst was cold turkey; there’s a reason they say that nicotine is more addictive than heroin, and more difficult to quit. I’m in the early stages of emphysema, and let me tell you it sucks not being able to catch my breath after a flight or two of stairs.
Anyway, I remember when cigs were 50 cents a pack; I’d walk to the gas station and get them for my mom, from a machine. I also remember cig commercials, people smoking in supermarkets, and my family doctor puffing away. I’m not THAT old, but you used to be able to smoke anywhere you pleased.
I agree with rtr; why not tax flavored liquor if flavored cigs are to be taxed? Oh, and cigs are between $7.50 – $8.00 a pack here, in the eastern U.S.
June 27th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
@BooRadley (90): No problem, didn’t mean to sound quite as abrupt as I did. A common occurrence I’m afraid.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Wow! The art is cool. The lack of knowledge in those times is stunning! Unfortunately I now feel the need to step out and have a puff or two.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Is that Ronald Reagan in #3 Chesterfield Christmas?
June 27th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Doh! Sorry Says Ron Reagan on it..
June 27th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
In Queensland, Australia, I pay $13 for a pack of Malboro Reds 25’s and they’re one of the cheaper brands here. I think that’s about just under $10US. And the price is going up next month by about 60c!
If it’s so bad for us the government should just outlaw it and stop making a quick buck.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
catchick (10) – Are you for real that’s how cheap smokes are in the States? Here in Saskatchewan Canada the cheapest it gets for decent smokes that don’t taste like ass is $10 a pack, $80 for a carton!
June 27th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Just a little add-on: I was reading over some of the earlier posts and it seems most American cigarettes come in cartons of 10, here in Canada it’s cartons of 8!
June 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
A pack of malboros in nyc is about $19 in CVS.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
How is the Indian and cowboy fighting racist? They kinda really did fight.
June 28th, 2009 at 12:30 am
@Zoe (101): How is the Indian and cowboy fighting racist?
The word of the day is “stereotype”.
June 28th, 2009 at 12:35 am
blowing in a chicks face is good for their skin
June 28th, 2009 at 12:37 am
LOL at blow in her face cig ad..
June 28th, 2009 at 12:50 am
i love clove cigarettes… Gudang garam + Sampoerna
June 28th, 2009 at 1:00 am
- No. 9: Never seen more brazen piggy-backing. Women’s lib and smoking?
- No. 6: Doctor’s prescribing smoking, that’s hilarious. Wonder what medical practice of today will be considered the same way in the future. Quote from Year 2118 “Can’t believe doctors prescribed painkillers way back in 2009, thank God we now know that they are addictive and harmful”
- No. 3: Is that Ronald Reagan??
June 28th, 2009 at 1:30 am
I know this isn’t exactly related to the topic, or related to the topic at all, but I haven’t been on in awhile and don’t know if it’s been brought up yet. Jamie, have you ever considered trying to make Listverse an app for the iPhone?
June 28th, 2009 at 1:59 am
I’m surprised you didn’t include one of these Lucky’s ads!
June 28th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Another reason it is important to get informed and not rely on main stream information. But we’ve come a long way… Really?
June 28th, 2009 at 8:24 am
nice list.
thanks for sharing.
June 28th, 2009 at 8:57 am
i stick to cigars – $4-$5 per and they last about 30-45 mins. better tobacco (cut leaf not processed grounds), no filter, no tax and better taste. I have one about once a week.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:20 am
@catchick (10): In my new favorite band, The Dead Weather, the singer smokes like crazy. in EVERY SINGLE you tube video of them playing live she has a cigarette in her hand. AND SHE CAN WAIL! i was amazed.
June 28th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
It’s $5 and change for camel #9 in Baltimore, MD.
So…there are no more light ciggys or they just can’t put it on the box?
June 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
[this was a pretty kool read]
June 28th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I can’t believe some people actually believed this kind of stuff.
June 28th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Here in Bakersfield, CA Marlboro 72s are about $4.89. Camels are about the same.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
I can’t believe how many countries have banned or are trying to ban the e-cigarette. I quit smoking about a year ago with the help of e-cigarettes. Four months of e-cigs, working my way down to zero nicotine, now I don’t smoke at all. The e-cig worked so effectively, 100 times better than patches and gum, but governments want to ban them. Big question is WHY?
June 28th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
You can still get a carton of ten packets (200 cigarettes) of golden triangle in Burma (Myanmar) for $US2.00 !!TWO BUCKS!! That’s all cigarettes are worth. Just think how much smokers are paying in taxes. Probably why they ban e-cigarettes.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
i hate smooke but i’am not hate smooker
June 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
here in the phils., a pack of marlboro is like $1 only. i still believe that the more you ban cigarettes, the more kids will use it.
June 28th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
iva-119~~~ You mean im not a smoker hater ?
June 29th, 2009 at 1:51 am
@10: Here in South Africa we pay just under ZAR23 for a box of Marlboro (20’s). Which is about USD2.91 / GBP1.71 multiply that by 10 and that’s how much we pay for a carton.
For most of us this is a very expensive habit here in SA.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:34 am
woh!
June 29th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Yes, the one with blowing smoke in the face is definitely the funniest! Is that real!?!?!?
June 29th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Hey there, yes it is Lifeschool here – I smoke perhaps 6 or 7 a day, Menthols, I love ‘em.
@shinacira (73): You got it right
June 29th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I love the posters. I am a collector of old posters and postcards. That doesn’t mean I support the subject depicted on the poster or postcard, only that I enjoy the art of the times, or the innocence, the naiveté.
That being said, most of the above posters look to be from the very late thirties through the forties…basically the span of WWII. During that period the cigarette makers doled out free cigarettes to the men in uniform, as many as they wanted, as often as they wanted (according to my dad’s memory many, many years later), with the planned result that the majority of them returned to the US addicted to tobacco. They created a market.
Of course, they didn’t plan on WWII, but they sure made good business use of it when it came along, and if it hadn’t happened they would have created a need some other way.
Everyone here (every adult here) is entitled to their own opinion about the value vs the harm of smoking, so I’m not going near that one. However, I would be extremely interested in knowing what the warning was on the Irish cigarette pack was!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:41 am
The reason #4 look spooky is because it is Basil Rathbone. The ad appeared during his tenure as Sherlock Holmes and they are playing off that aura of mystery. The phrase “Yes! It’s elementary” and all the magnifying glasses are the real tip off.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:30 am
ugh, i’m glad this wasn’t a list of anti-smoking commercials…lady with the hole in her throat, for example. those things scare the CRAP outta me.
…not enough for me to quit sucking on that sweet sweet tobacky…mmm…
June 29th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
The Nazis were anti-smoking because they were health nuts, just like today’s Californians. Your real hardcore rank and file Nazi believers were all into hiking and folk songs and mass gymnastics and eating muesli in order to better serve the Fatherland. No kidding. The most extreme ones went vegetarian like the Führer. Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda stressed the “cruelty to animals” involved in kosher ritual slaughter.
Yeah, their not wanting to spend foreign exchange earnings on tobacco instead of, say, Swedish iron ore, probably had something to do with it, too.
Here in Spain a pack of Marlboros costs €3.50. You can buy acceptable cheaper brands – L&M is Philip Morris’s low-cost brand – for €2.50. “Black tobacco,” smoked by people who picked up the habit back when Spain was poor and locally grown foul weed was sold cheap, costs less than €2.00 a pack.
The best smoke in the old days used to be unfiltered Philip Morris Commanders. I don’t think they make those anymore.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
i think i almost peed my pants from laughing at this! and now everyone around me probably thinks i am crazy
June 29th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
@John Sherman (127): The phrase “Yes! It’s elementary” and all the magnifying glasses are the real tip off.
Well not to mention, it says “Basil Rathbone, star of Dressed to Kill, Universal’s Sherlock Holmes series.” right on it.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:31 am
I only have two vices: cigarettes and masturbation. I’m a 20-a-day man, and I smoke like a chimney too.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:57 am
July 1st, 2009 at 6:50 am
wtf banning flavors in cigarettes, they trying to do this same bull shit in canada. stupid government big brother telling us what we can and cant do. fuck the government and their anti-smoking propaganda
July 1st, 2009 at 6:55 am
and just for the record the Canadian government has packs of cigs (25 in a pack) ranging from $8.91 up to as high as $13 for good brands, yes that is over 10$ for a pack of cigs. it is all tax, without the tax it would work out to approx. 3-4$ a pack. so i buy 100gram tubs of loose tobacco and tubes, roll my own smokes.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:26 pm
My favourite warning label on Norwegian packets of cigatettes is: “Smoking may lead to a slow and painful death.” Got to love the discression..
And yes, our smoking policy really sucks:P
July 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act says nothing about banning clove cigarettes.
Don’t worry, you can still give yourself cancer, and expect the government to pay for your chemo.
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
See, the Nazis weren’t all bad. They were Anti-Smoking. I admire that aspect of their campaign although that still doesn’t change the fact that they committed terrible atrocities towards minority groups.
July 5th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I really don’t understand all the hate cigarettes bring about, and I think that the latest bill passed was ridiculous… In an ideal world, I think people should be able to pick their poisons. I say if fast food restaurants are able to advertise their incredibly unhealthy food to the general public, tobacco companies should be able to advertise their unhealthy products as well.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I’m anti-smoking but that’s mostly because the smell of it makes me feel sick and I honestly can’t see the pleasure in it. My parents both smoked for years before quitting and my sister smokes now, and I can’t be around her when she does as it makes me gag. I could meet my perfect partner but if I found out they smoked I’d have to think twice; that’s how much I hate the smell.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I’m not a smoker but I do find that they are obscenely expensive. In NYC, t’s almost 10 dollars for a pack. I think the new law is stupid. Banning something will only make it look more temoting for kids.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Some people above and people I know say that after eating they need to smoke- and now due to habit if they don’t they feel sick not smoking.
How can I help them quit without them feeling sick or nervous?
Also I saw vintage ads about electricity curing “male weakness” !
July 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
The art of smoking. How about the art of trying to get a duff lighter working? You shake the thing, change the flint, fill the gas, swap hands (always a good tactic), and poke needles down em. Duff lighters are such a pain – and after you refill em, they leak!
July 18th, 2009 at 12:21 am
#3 looks like Ronald Reagan lol
July 20th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
@catchick I buy a pouch of Bugler for around $4.50 in Michigan. Camel Lights are 5 something.
And slikshu, it is him!
I love Djarum cigarettes, but it looks like I’ll never get to enjoy them again…
July 20th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
ive already comitted myself to not smoking because i have watch my grandma die of emphizima, i dont want my children to deal with that. ive refused smoking twice now
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:15 am
marlboro reds here in virginia are around $4.60 a pack. BS. well, after reading this, it’s time for a good ol’ cowboy killer.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
i wanna talk to u people
August 30th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I actually own two vintage tobacco posters(framed) that I picked up at a garage sale several years ago. One is for “Bull Durham smoking tobacco”, and shows three black men(drawn like versions of “Sambo” by the way). The other is my favorite; it shows Santa Claus smoking “Lucky Strikes”. How f-ed up is that?
September 13th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
They are 6.50 a pack here in US SW
September 25th, 2009 at 2:04 am
the cheapest pack of smokes where i live is about $0.81
and the most expensive is $2.72
it is crazy cheap where i live!! smokers paradise!
September 27th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I believe you have been re quoted…..
kindly do the needful….
http://mandirakhanna.wordpress.com/
September 27th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
this is the post i am referring to:
http://mandirakhanna.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/eye-candy-for-cigarette-lovers/
November 13th, 2009 at 11:37 am
The number 2 poster appears to be an illustration by N.C. Wyeth.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:42 am
come to indonesia where marlboro only cost Rp 10,000 which is only $1
Djarum Super best clove ciggerette @ 75 cents packed 12
Pall Mall Ciggz @ 50 cents
and much more, its almost the biggest smoking nation where you can see kidz in the age of 8 smoking while running arround hiding from their oldies
and yet i still see many 70 year old live long enough to continue smoking the “Dji Sam Soe” highest containing nicotine smoke
marboro is nothing compared to the other smokes in nicotine lol
and its only $1 max! i feel like a vintage ad already hahaha!
November 19th, 2009 at 10:54 am
btw i should’ve mention $1 is about Rp 9,890 rite no, so a pack is like 98 cents lol
November 24th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
awww I pay AU $12.00 for a packet and a carton is around AU $70.00
January 18th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
smoking is art thats depend on the personality