Smokers rejoice. There is a new, healthier way to smoke, all thanks to the innovators at Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris). Marlboro has just released Smoke Rites, a new line of health conscious products for modern people with active lifestyles.
The concept was borne over two years of intense research at Marlboro laboratories. Head researcher Dr. Dylan Pantzenfahr explains, Curing lung cancer is one of Marlboro s top priorities. And while we can t change the nature of tobacco , we can change the way people smoke it. Pantzenfahr is referring to serving size. To date there is no standard serving size for cigarette consumption. It s a tricky question, says Pantzenfahr, A man with massive lungs may consume a much larger serving of cigarettes than, say, a tiny person. Nevertheless, in early 2007 Pantzenfahr and his team of specialists made it their one mission to answer the serving size question.
Early tests failed. The group ran into several technical and legal obstacles. Julie Lawson, the team s resident psychiatrist, palms her face when discussing the initial trials. It was the wild west. No one had a clue what a serving of cigarettes looked like. We had monkeys smoking cigarettes, men smoking catfood, women using corn cob pipes. Eight cigs, twelve cigs, we had to cut the 200 cigs per day experiment short because too many subjects were losing feeling in their limbs. Julie shakes her head, We didn t learn what a serving was, but we learned if you smoke more than 200 cigarettes per day your urine turns black.
But the smoke team didn t quit. 420 million dollars and 18 months later Pantzenfahr made a discovery. The serving size was still eluding us, but we found something amazing in the data. One of the experiments compared people who smoked as much as they wanted each day with people who only smoked six cigarettes a day. Over 30 people were tested, and the results showed a 14% lower chance of lung cancer in the people who smoked just 6 cigarettes. The message was clear, smoking 6 cigarettes reduces your risk of cancer. Pantzenfahr s eyes light up when he remembers the day he made the connection, I double checked the findings, I turned to my research assistant and told her we d just stumbled upon a way to cure cancer through smoking.
Marlboro s CEO, Jeff Skinling, was skeptical. I didn t want to throw another half billion dollars into a scientific hunch. I had them run a double blind study. Then a triple blind, then a quadruple blind study before deciding we were blind enough to move forward.
When Skinling moves forward, he moves fast. Within months Marlboro created the Smoke Rite brand, produced a commercial, designed the packaging, and even built a bio green environment safe production facility. Now people know they are being healthy and environmentally chic when they smoke, says Marlboro customer sensitivity chief Nancy McKerberster.
The Smoke Rites are scheduled to hit gas stations and grocery stores within the month. Smokers will now have the option to buy a traditional 20 cigarette pack, or a Smart Carton of Smoke Rites. Each Smart Carton contains 12 small 6 cigarette Smoke Rite packs. Additionally, some regions will have the option to buy Smart Carton Plusses which will include a bonus seventh cigarette in each 6 cigarette pack.
This is just the beginning, says Josh Glott, co vice executive head of development and strategic marketing productivity at Marlboro, Beyond the commercials and the promo spots on morning shows, our next batch of Smoke Rites will promote even further awareness of smoking health as we plan on including heart, check mark, and jogger silhouette icons on each pack. We re even planning future Smoke Rites to be sold in a pack shaped like a healthy lung. Glott holds up a magazine ad and smiles. The ad shows a mom in a sports bra holding a heart shaped bowl filled with cigarettes.
But not everyone approves of the healthy cigarettes. Grace Null heads a privately funded interest group dedicated to speaking out against the re packaging. You think people are really going to smoke just 6 cigarettes a day? No sir, people will end up smoking that entire Smart Carton. Null cites a study to back up her claim. But Pantzenfahr is quick to reply, Her claim is true, but only for people who don t have control over their smoking habits. For people who are in control, the Smoke Rites are the healthiest choice.
The company s strategy of product miniaturization is spreading to other health conscious corporations such as Jagermeister. Alcohol is a powerful disinfectant, says Jagermeister corporate researchologist Joe Bellows, Studies show males between the ages of 28 and 55 need extra disinfecting at the end of a work day. Jagermeister Disinfectaboosters are a healthy way to disinfect your liver. And because of their small size, they re fine to drink before driving home. Bellows is boastful of his company s new stance, though he admits Jagermeister is not the first to do so, citing Michelob Ultra s movement to inform the public of the important role beer plays in exercise and fitness.
Uzi has also joined the bandwagon, taking the first groundbreaking steps toward pistols and sub machine guns that load Smartables two bullet magazines instead of the more dangerous fourteen bullet magazines. A safer gun for safer crimes.
Jeff Skinling doesn t seem concerned with all the corporate piggybacking. The smaller pack thing is just the tip of the iceberg in our new campaign for health. Just wait till you wrap your lips around our Vitacigs. Skinling is referring to an upcoming project that will inject vitamins and minerals into packs of Marlboro Smoke Rites. Each Smoke Rite pack would contain up to 15% of the recommended daily allowance of niacin. Smoke 7 packs a day, and you re over 100%! claims Skinling. Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. Outside of Smoke Rite Vitapacks, niacin can only be found in meat, vegetables, nuts, fruits, dairy products, and grains.
While it may be years before the negative and slanderous term cancer sticks fades from American lexicon, Pantzenfahr is hopeful that his research along with the new repackaging and re labeling will finally sway the public to see Marlboro cigarettes for what they really are immunity sticks. And as for current public opinion? I don t need to be able to pronounce the name of every single ingredient on every label of every product I buy, says one American consumer, I just need to know if I am being healthy when I put it in my mouth or when I give it to my children.
What do you think of Marlboro’s latest escapade? Share your thoughts on corporate spin, food product marketing and “Smoke Rites” in the comment board!
Marlboro full flavor red 100’s vs. sonoma full flavor red 100’s cigarettes – yahoo voices – voices.yahoo.com
Viceroy cigarettes online
Over the course of the past three years, I have written many product review articles. I have written product reviews of myriad food items, household goods, automobiles, motorcycles and appliances. One type of product that I have never written a review of however, is cigarettes. Yes, I admit it, I am still a cigarette smoker. I count and try to limit the number of cigarettes that I smoke each day and I also smoke more than one brand, to provide a sense of variety. The two brands of cigarettes that I smoke are Marlboro Regular, or Red 100’s, and Sonoma Full Flavor, or Red 100’s. I think that these two brands of cigarettes are comparable in flavor and strength and have decided to write a product review of these cigarette varieties. Presented here, in an effort to assist the consumer, is a product review of Marlboro Regular Red 100’s and Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s.
Flavor
To me, the flavor offered by Sonoma Full Flavor 100’s and Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s is similar, yet somewhat refreshingly different. As with many other cigarette smokers, my first cigarette of the day, along with a cup of coffee, is my favorite. The full flavor offered by Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s is exactly what my body needs to attain the level of nicotine that it seems to crave.
Interestingly, after the first cigarette of the day, the rest of the cigarettes that I smoke are Sonomas, with the exception of my last cigarette of the day, which is usually a Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100. While the flavors of these two brands of cigarettes are indeed similar, the Sonomas taste a tiny bit lighter to me, yet supply exactly the “oomph” that my system craves, as long as I cut half of the filter off.
Price
The price normally charged for Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s is the same standard price charged for all of the major name brand 100’s cigarettes. In the Hartford, Connecticut area, that translates into approximately $6.20 per pack. The price normally charged for Sonomas is considerably less, approximately $5.60 per pack. Although Sonomas are priced somewhere between name brand and generic brand cigarettes, I think that they are just as good as any of the name brands.
Strength
For anyone who smokes full flavor cigarettes, the strength of the cigarettes definitely does matter. Since I have been smoking Marlboros for more than 20 years and Sonomas for only roughly three years, my system is completely used to and receptive to the Marlboro’s strength level.
With the Sonomas, unles I cut half of the filter off, they are just not quite as strong as I would prefer. With half of the filter cut off, they attain the strength level that my body craves.
Availability
One of the only issues that I have about smoking Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s is their availability. From my experience, less than 50% of the cigarette retailers that I visit normally stock and sell these cigarettes. Because Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s are fairly difficult for me to find sometimes, I am always pleased when I discover another outlet that sells them. Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s on the other hand, are regularly stocked pretty much anywhere that most major brands of cigarettes are sold.
Size
Since I specifically purchase 100’s size cigarettes, the size of the cigarettes does matter. Technically, both the Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s and the Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s are the same size, but the size of their filters is different. Of course, being 100’s, both of these brands offer more tobacco to be smoked than regular size cigarettes and the amount of tobacco in each of these brands seems to be comparable.
Appearance
Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s and Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s are both packaged in standard 100’s size cigarette packs that are red and white, with black lettering. The cigarettes themselves, look largely the same, except that the filters on the Marlboro cigarettes appear to be a little bit bigger that the filters on the Sonoma cigarettes.
Overall Rating
All things considered, Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s and Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s are both very flavorful brands of cigarettes that are comparable in strength. There is a disparity in the price of these cigarette brands, however. Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s are normally priced lower than the Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s. If you are a cigarette smoker who is seeking satisfying full flavor, 100’s size smokes, please let me recommend both Marlboro Full Flavor Red 100’s and Sonoma Full Flavor Red 100’s cigarettes.
Sources
Personal experience with the products