Lights Cigarettes in the USA

The Lights Life Cycle in the USA Market:
The Introduction of Lights Cigarettes

Precursors of Lights Cigarettes

Since the cigarette is a commodity product, innovation on product quality, advertising and packaging were key to establishing a point of distinction. The manufacturers' desire to innovate and differentiate their products by using their most recently developed technology brought to the market two important elements in the early '30s: the filter and menthol flavour.

Filter Cigarettes

Lorillard introduced the filter concept to the US cigarette market in 1931 with its brand Parliament. In 1933 Brown & Williamson developed the cellulose acetate filter in the form it is used today.

Although consumers perceived filter cigarettes as less harsh, more malleable and convenient than non-filtered cigarettes, it took 21 years for the filter to gain acceptance into the market, and it took 46 years for it to be widely incorporated into the market because of the following reasons:

■ The first filters acted as a barrier to block all smoking deliveries, including those elements that provided taste, an element that consumers were not willing to sacrifice.

■ Early filter cigarettes were hard to draw.

■ Consumers did not see any incentive or pressure to give up smoking pleasure from plain cigarettes.

The filter segment started to develop in 1952 when Lorillard introduced Kent Micronite Filter and the anti-smoking publications started to sensitize consumers toward the characteristics of cigarettes with lower deliveries. Those publications linked cancer in smokers to tar deliveries and ranked existing brands by tar levels.

The risk of cancer publicized by Consumer Reports and the anti-smoking groups gave smokers reasons to switch to filter cigarettes. Concerns increased among consumers and sales of filter cigarettes boomed. Cigarette manufacturers responded to the growing interest in filter cigarettes by widely adopting the concept in their existing Full Flavour brands.

In the early stage of this evolution in the early '50s, Viceroy took filter segment leadership with its king-size filter style that claimed "double-filtering action." Winston and Camel, both Full Flavour plain cigarettes with 32 mg. and 31 mg. tar respectively, reacted to Viceroy's success by introducing filtered versions, as did many other popular brands. Filter cigarettes soon came to be perceived by consumers as better cigarettes and eventually grew to dominate the market.

In addition to consumer demand, manufacturers' attention to filter cigarettes was driven by the cost reduction and consequently improved profitability from the filter segment. The filter was cheaper to manufacture than the equivalent tobacco rod that the filter replaced.

As a result of this market dynamic, by the end of 1954 the filter segment represented 10% of the market, up from 3% the previous year.

Mentholated Cigarettes

"Menthol enhanced the smoking experience with a refreshing sensation that consumers associated with medicinal benefits." The first two mentholated brands were SPUD and Kool, non-filter cigarettes introduced in 1933.

Although well perceived by consumers, the menthol segment remained under 3% of the market until 1956 when RJR launched Salem, the first filter-tipped menthol. The Salem proposition, a combined benefit of menthol flavour plus filter that satisfied consumers, propelled the menthol segment growth. The segment grew to 11% of the market by 1960 and 25% by 1980.

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