View source for Kent (cigarette)

{{Short description|American brand of cigarettes}}
{{infobox brand
| name= Kent
| logo= Kent_cigarettes_2017_logo.jpg
| image= 
| caption= 
| type= [[Cigarette]]
| currentowner= [[British American Tobacco]]
| producedby= British American Tobacco<br /> [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company|R.J. Reynolds]]
| origin= [[United States]]
| introduced= {{start date and age|1952}}
| discontinued= 
| related= [[Barclay (cigarette)|Barclay]]
| markets= ''See [[#Markets|Markets]]''
| previousowners= [[Lorillard Tobacco Company|Lorillard]]
| trademarkregistrations= 
| ambassadors= 
| tagline=
| website=
| footnotes = Carcinogenicity: [[IARC group 1]]
}}
'''Kent''' is an American brand of [[cigarettes]], currently owned and manufactured by [[R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]] in the [[United States]] and [[British American Tobacco]] elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bat.com/brands |title=British American Tobacco - Our brands |website=Bat.com |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> The brand is named after Herbert Kent, a former executive at [[Lorillard Tobacco Company]].<ref name="cigsspot.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.cigsspot.com/2017/04/kent-cigarettes-history-reviews/ |title=Kent cigarettes. History and Reviews |website=Cigsspot.com |date=24 April 2017 |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Kentultra-1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|An old pack of Kent Ultras from [[South Africa]]]]
Widely recognized by many as the first popular filtered cigarette, Kent was introduced by the [[Lorillard Tobacco Company]] in 1952<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://rjrt.com/transforming-tobacco/history/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company |language=en}}</ref> around the same time a series of articles entitled "cancer by the carton", published by ''[[Reader's Digest]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stobbe |first=Mike |title=Historic smoking report marks 50th anniversary |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/05/historic-smoking-report-marks-50th-anniversary/4318233/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> scared American consumers into seeking out a filter brand at a time when most brands were filterless. ([[Viceroy (cigarette)|Viceroy cigarettes]] had been the first to introduce filters, in 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cigarette Filters |url=https://tobaccotactics.org/wiki/cigarette-filters/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=TobaccoTactics |language=en}}</ref>) Kent widely touted its ''"famous micronite filter"'' and promised consumers the ''"greatest health protection in history"''. Sales of Kent skyrocketed, and it has been estimated that in Kent's first four years on the market, Lorillard sold some 13&nbsp;billion Kent cigarettes. From March 1952 until at least May 1956, however, the Micronite filter in Kent cigarettes contained compressed [[carcinogenic]] [[blue asbestos]] within the crimped crepe paper.<ref name="pmid7757969">{{cite journal |vauthors=Longo WE, Rigler MW, Slade J |title=Crocidolite asbestos fibers in smoke from original Kent cigarettes |journal=Cancer Research |volume=55 |issue=11 |pages=2232–5 |year=1995 |pmid=7757969 |url=http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=7757969}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asbestos.com/products/general/cigarette-filters.php |title=Asbestos Cigarette Filters - Toxic Usage, Lawsuits & Brands |website=Asbestos.com |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> It has been suspected that many cases of [[mesothelioma]] have been caused specifically by smoking the original Kent cigarettes, and various lawsuits followed over the years because of it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/30/news/ex-kent-smoker-blames-filter-of-past-for-illness.html |title=Ex-Kent Smoker Blames Filter of Past for Illness |date=30 August 1991 |website=The New York Times |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/lawsuits-continue-over-asbestos-in-kent-cigarette-filters/article_845c79ce-e028-5a14-a521-5a5fc66e0e4a.html |title=Lawsuits continue over asbestos in Kent cigarette filters |author=Myron Levin |website=Greensboro.com |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fairwarning.org/2013/10/legal-battles-smolder-six-decades-after-the-greatest-health-protection-in-cigarette-history/ |title=Legal Battles Smolder Six Decades After 'the Greatest Health Protection in Cigarette History' |website=FairWarning.org |date=22 October 2013 |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> Lorillard quietly changed the filter material from asbestos to the more common [[cellulose acetate]] in mid 1956.<ref name="pmid7757969" /> Kent continued to grow until the late 1960s, then began a long, steady decline as more filtered cigarette brands promising even lower tar (and appealing to smokers' desires for a "safer" smoke) were introduced.

Kent Cigarettes sponsored ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' during its second season, and actor [[Dick Van Dyke]] filmed many spots smoking them, along with [[Rose Marie]] and [[Morey Amsterdam]].  The cigarettes were touted as being packaged in a "crush proof box".<ref>{{Cite web |title=13 Things You Didn't Know About The Dick Van Dyke Show |url=https://www.neatorama.com/2017/01/26/13-Things-You-Didnt-know-about-The-Dick-Van-Dyke-Show/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Neatorama |language=en}}</ref>

However, Kent continued to stay in the top ten cigarette brand list until 1979.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://everything2.com/user/meezio/writeups/kent |title=Kent |website=Everything2.com |access-date=2015-10-31}}</ref> While continuing domestic sale and production, Lorillard sold the overseas rights of Kent and all of its other brands in 1977,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lorillard.com/aboutus |title=Reynolds American Incorporated - Home |website=Lorillard.com |access-date=2015-10-31}}</ref> and today Kents manufactured outside the U.S. are property of [[British American Tobacco]].  It eventually became one of their most popular brands, along with [[Dunhill (cigarette)|Dunhill]], [[Lucky Strike]], [[Pall Mall (cigarette)|Pall Mall]] and [[Rothmans International|Rothmans]].<ref name="cigsspot.com" />

On June 15, 2014 [[Reynolds American]] offered to buy the Lorillard tobacco company for $27.4&nbsp;billion and effective June 12, 2015, the Kent brand became the property of [[R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Inc |first=Reynolds American Inc ; Lorillard |title=Reynolds American To Acquire Lorillard in Transaction Valued At $27.4 Billion |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reynolds-american-to-acquire-lorillard-in-transaction-valued-at-274-billion-267143881.html |access-date=2020-06-11 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en |type=Public relations}}</ref>

Various advertising posters were made for Kent cigarettes, ranging from 1955 until 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vintageadsandstuff.com/adstobaccokent.html |title=Kent cigarette ads |website=Vintageadsandstuff.com |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magazine-advertisements.com/kent-cigarettes.html |title=Kent Cigarettes |website=Advertisement Gallery |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>

==Kent in the U.S.==
Currently, Kents sold in the U.S. are only available in soft packs.
*Kent Classic - Kings and 100s (Full Flavor)
*Kent Golden - Kings and 100s (Lights)
*Kent III - Kings and 100s (Ultra Lights)

Kent also manufactured a <u>regular</u> size filter option (the same size as unfiltered Camels, Lucky Strikes).  This is notable since most filter cigarettes were king-size. This size was offered at least through the 1970s, and possibly later. They are no longer available.

==Kent in Romania==
Between 1970 and 1990 Kent was the most demanded cigarette in Romania and in some parts of the domestic market [[commodity money|used as payment]] or [[corruption in Romania|bribe]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/08/29/in-romania-kents-as-currency/af55be66-f57c-4aeb-9d13-22bdbaa75947/ |title=IN ROMANIA, KENTS AS CURRENCY |first=Gary |last=Lee |date=29 August 1987 |access-date=3 January 2018 |website=Washingtonpost.com}}</ref> In the latter part of the interval, Kent was no longer available in regular retail, being sold officially only in hard currency shops. Obviously, [[Economy of the Socialist Republic of Romania|the black market was thriving at the time]], as most Kents were being smuggled in by those relatively few Romanians who were allowed to travel abroad (see and [[TAROM|air crew]], [[Foreign relations of Romania|diplomatic staff]], etc.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19841201&id=G6IkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sqUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1023%2C502429 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411012954/http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19841201&id=G6IkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sqUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1023%2C502429 |url-status=dead |title=The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search |date=11 April 2013 |archive-date=11 April 2013 |website=Archive.is |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/myz20f00/pdf;jsessionid=CB4307DB173D9DDA3262BCF498B359FC.tobacco03 ''In Romania, Smoking A Kent Cigarette Is Like Burning Money'' and ''In Romania, Kent Cigarettes are Very Useful As A Bartering Medium''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226063029/http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/myz20f00/pdf%3Bjsessionid%3DCB4307DB173D9DDA3262BCF498B359FC.tobacco03 |date=2013-12-26 }}, [[The Wall Street Journal]]: March 1, 1986</ref>
The 2004 debut short film {{lang|ro|Un cartuș de Kent și un pachet de cafea}} ({{Literal translation|A pack of Kent and a packet of coffee}}) by [[Cristi Puiu]] is titled after the bribes discussed in the film.

==Kent in Vietnam==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
Among the migrant worker community of English teachers in Vietnam, (esp. Hanoi) menthol Kent cigarettes have become a beloved accessory. A large part of this community consists of non-smokers who buy and smoke menthol Kents whilst drinking on the weekend. Kent "boom" (meaning push in Vietnamese and referring to the menthol bubble that the smoker presses and pops to change the flavour to menthol) are enjoyed by some who don't even press the button, others who press immediately and a whole host of subcultural groups that press halfway, after one draw, before the last draw, or before offering to a friend, and so on.

==Markets==
Kent is or was sold in the following countries: [[Australia]], [[Belgium]], [[Brazil]], [[Republic of Ireland]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Netherlands]], [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], [[Spain]], [[Italy]], [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Moldova]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]], [[Iraq]], [[Albania]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], [[Ukraine]], [[Russia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Egypt]], [[South Africa]], [[Syria]], [[Israel]], [[Iran]], [[United States]], [[Kosovo]] [[Mexico]], [[El Salvador]], [[Chile]], [[Turkey]], [[Peru]], [[Brazil]], [[Paraguay]], [[Argentina]], [[Vietnam]], [[Singapore]], [[Mongolia]], [[China]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Japan]] and [[South Korea]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cigarettespedia.com/index.php/BrandKent |title=BrandKent - Cigarettes Pedia |website=Cigarettespedia.com |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zigsam.at/B_Kent.htm |title=Kent |website=Zigsam.at |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Tobacco smoking]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Reynolds American}}
{{British American Tobacco}}
{{Lorillard}}

[[Category:1952 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Asbestos disasters]]
[[Category:Asbestos]]
[[Category:British American Tobacco brands]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1952]]
[[Category:R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company brands]]
[[Category:Socialist Republic of Romania]]