Parliament (cigarette)

Parliament
Israeli pack of Parliament cigarettes
Product typeCigarette
OwnerPhilip Morris International
Produced byPhilip Morris International
CountryUnited States
Introduced1931; 93 years ago (1931)
MarketsSee Markets
Tagline"Only the flavor touches your lips", "Tobacco tastes best when the filter's recessed"
WebsiteMyParliament.com
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Parliament is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the United States and Philip Morris International outside of the United States.

History

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The brand was launched in 1931 and is distinctive for its recessed paper filters.[1] It was originally used as an advertising gimmick when cigarettes did not have filters. The first commercial cigarette filters came into use in 1935.[2]

Until the late 1950s, Parliament was packaged in a two-layer "hard" pack. That packaging continued under the Benson & Hedges brand after Parliament adopted a conventional paper pack.

Parliament is one of few brands of cigarettes on the mainstream market to feature a recessed paper filter. Cigarette filters became common in most cigarettes in the 1950s. In the 1940s and 1950s, the brand was marketed for its unique filters, with advertisements reading, "Only the flavor touches your lips", and "Tobacco tastes best when the filter's recessed".[3] The brand also claimed that the recessed filter prevented tar from making contact with the smoker's mouth, unlike standard filters.[4][5][6]

In Korea, brands like Marlboro, Philip Morris, Dunhill, Parliament, and various other Western cigarettes were sold in 1987 as imports opening to prepare for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[citation needed]

Parliament makes up 1.9% of U.S. cigarette sales, in contrast to Marlboro, which represents 41.1% of U.S. cigarette sales.[7][8] From the 1950s on, the cigarette had a reputation for being popular among affluent smokers.[5]

It is the 12th best-selling international brand and the 4th largest PMI brand.[9] In 2016, the volume of produced Parliament cigarettes was 46 billion. The brand is sold in more than 30 countries.[9]

Advertising

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In the television commercials that were once broadcast in Japan, the image of New York was strongly issued. From the early to the mid-1980s, things like CG animation, which had been the package designs of Parliament, ranged from the cityscape of New York to roads and bridges, etc. From around the end of the 1980s, the aerial photographs of New York by live action turned into things to be used. Since entering the 1990s, under the image strategy of being even more expensive, BGM was shedding the number of AOR artists such as Bobby Caldwell with beautiful images. Among them were included a self-cover version by Bobby of "Stay With Me" for KA, GU, YA (the theme song of the movie Bamboo Story) that was offered to Peter Cetera. Kyōzō Nagatsuka was in charge of the narration at that time.

Actor Charlie Sheen appeared in ads for Parliament in Japan in the 1990s.[10][11][12]

Markets

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Parliament was or still is sold in the following countries: United States, Bulgaria, Serbia, Brazil, Cyprus, Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Estonia, Armenia, India, Pakistan, Lithuania, Latvia, Kuwait, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.[13][14][15]

U.S. varieties

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Parliament is sold in the following varieties:

Parliament cigarettes with recessed filter
  • Blue Pack (Full Flavor) Kings—Box
  • White Pack (Lights) Kings—Soft and Box
  • White Pack (Lights) 100's—Soft and Box
  • Silver Pack (Ultra Lights) Kings—Box

Menthol

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  • Green Pack (Menthol Full Flavor) Kings—Box
  • White Pack (Menthol Lights) Kings—Box
  • White Pack (Menthol Lights) 100's—Box
  • Silver Pack (Menthol Ultra Lights) Kings—Box

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "History of Philip Morris".
  2. ^ "The History of Filters". ecigator.net.
  3. ^ "Vintage Parliament Ad".
  4. ^ "Advert". classroomtools.com.
  5. ^ a b "Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising". tobacco.stanford.edu.
  6. ^ "Parliament Cigarettes". Advertisement Gallery. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28.
  7. ^ "Philip Morris ups Parliament, Virginia Slims price". Reuters. January 3, 2008. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  8. ^ "Parliament Cigarettes". Euro Cig. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  9. ^ a b "Building Leading Brands". www.pmi.com.
  10. ^ "Parliament Ad Gallery". tobaccofreekids.org. Archived from the original on 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
  11. ^ Chandler Bing (17 January 2015). "Charlie Sheen commercial for Parliament Cigarettes - Japan, 1990s". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ ADvertime (15 March 2017). "Parliament Spot Ad パーラメント 90年代 チャーリーシーン CM Japan". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "BrandParliament - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  14. ^ "Parliament". www.zigsam.at.
  15. ^ "Brands". www.cigarety.by.