History of Camel cigarettes

You might not believe, but there was a time when cigarettes were considered to be women’s prerogative, while the real tough guys preferred to smoke cigars, pipe tobacco and roll-your-own smokes. Yet, “nicotine cancer sticks” appeared to be very comfy in production and consumption, so the owners of major tobacco companies started looking for strategies that could help to increase cigarette sales among male smokers. And the so-needed image was soon found. It was based on those eternal men’s values – passion for freedom and adventures, dignity and courage. Today the majority of tobacco brands use this theme. But Camel was the pioneer in that field.

Camel Rise

It all began in 1913. It was the time of multiple experiments in tobacco industry, since smoking was becoming a trendy habit, and the manufacturers were trying to create new way of consuming tobacco. Among other new tobacco products, there were some tiny cylinder-shaped things in white paper, which were becoming more and more popular among smokers. These cylinders were called cigarettes. And namely these cigarettes became the focus of attention of Richard Reynolds, the founder and owner of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Being recognized as one of the leading producers of pipe tobacco and using that experience, Reynolds zealously got to the business. The company acquired Red Camel brand, and reduced the brand name to Camel. Some say Reynolds selected the brand image thanks to the passion for Middle East that was popular in the United States in the 1920s. It will remain a mystery whether the Arab tales were the source of inspiration for Richard Reynolds, but the way he ran the marketing campaign was really fairy-tale.

Brain Explosion

Doctors prefer Camels? OMG that is an outrageous sin! Today marketing managers have more than a hundred of strategies to promote a product, including the interest build up.
But in the beginning of the 20th century, it was truly a revelation. Having decided that Camel symbol is not only a vivid image, but also a powerful marketing device, RJ Reynolds launched several mysterious ads in newspapers several days before the national introduction of Camel cigarettes.
“Camels”- stated one of those ads. While the people were trying to understand what does that mean, another advert was launched. “Camels are coming”! Whereas the people were considering the options in dealing with the camels, next ad hit them – “Tomorrow there will be more Camels in the city than in Asia and Africa combined!” Those, who managed to keep sound mind due to the potential Camel invasion, finally discovered the truth next morning. “Camel cigarettes are here now! – stated the final advert. Well, with such marketing experiments, it’s not surprising that a Camel-smoking trend started.

Spirit of Freedom

Image from Futurama animated series. Symbol of Camel cigarettes, Joe the Camel, managed to become a legend in American culture.
From the very first days after its launch, this tobacco brand efficiently used the spirit of freedom and passion for adventures. Besides the images showing African and slogans like “It’s a whole new world”, the man-oriented image of Camels is confirmed by the fact that Camel cigarettes were distributed among soldiers going to the World War II. Soldier or sailor smoking a Camel cigarettes was one of the most popular Hollywood images.
However, RJ Reynolds wasn’t the only tobacco company to focus on eternal men’s values. In 1954 its future major rival Marlboro was launched. Their famous cowboy appealed not only to the spirit of adventures, but to the whole essence (even if it was mythologized) of American men. And it was not surprising that Camel smokers began turning to the iconic red-and-white packs. Trying to retain its customers owners of Camel brand organized the world-famous Camel Trophy – a showdown of will power, adventures and nature for tough men.

Cigarette Ads stimulate Teens to Light Up

Tobacco advertisements really do prompt teenagers to smoke, say the authors of a new study that calls for a ban on cigarette ads. In research involving more than 2,100 public school students in Germany, 277 young people who had never smoked before took up the habit after viewing tobacco advertising. Those who saw the most ads were 46 percent more likely to try cigarettes than those who saw no tobacco ads, the study found.

This “just adds weight to the idea of having the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] be able to control tobacco marketing,” said study co-author Dr. James D. Sargent, a professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine at Dartmouth Medical Center in New Hampshire.

Sargent, who has done extensive research on the influence of media on teen behaviors, worked with German researchers to produce the study, published online Jan. 17 in advance of print publication in the February issue of Pediatrics.

“There is a mental model for how advertising works,” said Sargent. After viewing an ad, teens “start having favorable thoughts about smoking: ‘it might be fun, it might make me more socially accepted.’ This preceded any intent to smoke on their part.”

Eventually a teen who has seen tobacco ads thinks about trying smoking, and soon after that “they try it,” said Sargent.

Students involved in the study ranged from 10 to 17 years old, with an average age of 12.5 years, when the study began. They were shown 12 ads with branding removed — six for cigarettes and six for other products, including candy, cars and cell phones. They were asked to identify the product advertised and recall the brand if they could.

After nine months, 13 percent of the students who had seen tobacco ads began smoking, showing a strong connection between the behavior and tobacco advertising, said Sargent. And the more ads they saw, the more likely they were to start smoking, the study found.

Smoking was not related to advertising for other products, the researchers said.

“Each one of these studies that we do is another little block that supports causality, just another little piece of evidence,” Sargent said.

Other known risk factors for teen smoking, such as parental and peer smoking, were controlled for during the data analysis, the researchers said.

“This [study] is very important because there are few, if any, longitudinal studies,” demonstrating a link between tobacco advertising and teen smoking, said Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-smoking organization.

Previous research has mostly relied on cross-sectional studies, she said. That type of study documents incidence of a behavior at a certain point in time and may suggest a link between, say, smoking and advertising, but it doesn’t show cause-and-effect. A longitudinal study, on the other hand, follows participants for a period of time in an effort to demonstrate that one causes the other.

Cigarettes could be sold in plain packs

Health Secretary says plain packaging for cigarettes could be an important public health measure and discourage children from smoking

Tobacco manufacturers could be forced to sell cigarettes in plain packaging under proposals being looked at by the Department of Health. It believes the move could be particularly effective at deterring children from buying them.

It is one of a series of measures being examined to further reduce the number of people who smoke and preventing young people from taking up the habit.

‘Silent salesman’

The measure would mean that only basic information and warnings about the dangers of smoking would appear on cigarette packaging. “The evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers, so it makes sense to consider having less attractive packaging,” says Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in an emailed statement. “It's wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets.”
The government is currently looking at a number of options for how tobacco should be displayed in shops, including getting retailers to put displays under the counter next year so that they are not visible to children. The Department of Health says no decision has yet been taken and that they want to reduce smoking without harming businesses.
Action on Smoking and Health says it wants to see both the plain packaging and the display ban implemented. It regards colourful cigarette packs as ‘silent salesman’ for tobacco firms. “Industry marketing men have become increasingly pushy with pack design, making it a 21^st Century billboard, identifying this brand as ‘cool’, that brand is ‘feminine’, says Martin Dockrell, ASH’s director of policy and research in an email. “That is why it is so important to end the lavish displays behind the sweets in shops but it cannot be a question of one or the other. If the effect of this move was to kick the display ban into the long grass, it would backfire horribly on the Government.”

White paper

Lansley says the government will act to reduce the deaths caused by smoking and cut the burden on the NHS. “We will shortly set out a radical new approach to public health in a White Paper. We want to go further and faster in improving the health of the nation based firmly on doing what the evidence tells us works,” he says.
The British Medical Association has welcomed the latest initiative. A spokesman said in an emailed statement: “There is clear evidence that young people find branded packaging appealing. And we know that the tobacco industry spends huge amounts on this clever marketing to enhance their brands and increase sales.

How Cigarettes Are Made

 Tobacco

Cigarettes start with the harvest of both tobacco leaves and stems. These leaves and stems are then dried and cured using the combination of oxygen and direct heat. Once the product has fully cured, the leaves are broken up and mixed with paper pulp. The paper pulp is added to help the tobacco burn easier.

Masking

The stem used to be taken out during the cigarette process due to its bitter flavor; however, since the discovery that the stem contains more nicotine than the leaf itself, the stem is now used as well. To mask the bitter taste, sugar is added to the pulp and tobacco mixture.

Ammonia

Since some of the nicotine in tobacco is trapped in salt form, ammonia is added to the tobacco mixture to help release the additional nicotine. The chemical reaction between the salt and the ammonia unlocks the nicotine and allows more of the substance to be absorbed by the body when inhaled. Nicotine in salt form can still enter the bloodstream, but not to the extent that freed nicotine can.

Rolling

Once the tobacco has been fully treated, the finished product is rolled into long, tightly packed paper tube shapes and glued shut. The tubes are then cut into equal lengths the size of a cigarette. Filtered cigarettes also have a filter that is glued to one end of the cigarette. Once the finished cigarette is rolled, it is placed in a pack and plastic wrapped for shipping.

Camel Cigarettes Attract Teenage Girls

A new research was made regarding the people who are attracted by Camel cigarettes. In conclusion it was established that teen girls have more interest in Camel cigarettes than any other category. Another study made on 1,036 adolescents, also says that the ads for Camel No. 9 cigarettes, that are found in magazines like: Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Vogue represent a big hit for teen girls aged from 12 to 16.

This new brand was launched in 2007 and in promotional giveaways for it were included cell phone jewelry, wristbands, purses and berry-flavored lip balm.
The spokesman for tobacco company R.J. Reynolds, which is the manufacturer of Camel Cigarette Brand, David Howard said that the ads were from the beginning aimed for adults. He also said that more than 80% of the people who read it are over 18. In 1998 Master Settlement Agreement agreed with the tobacco companies not to influence kids in smoking habit. The same spokesman said that the number of the teens has declined since the ads were introduced.

Cheryl Healton is the president of the anti-smoking group the American Legacy Foundation and co-author who conducted a study about teenagers and said that the teens were very interested in the ads. She also asked teens if they realize what kind of cigarette brands exist.