View source for Rothmans, Benson & Hedges

{{Short description|Canadian manufacturer and distributor of tobacco products}}
{{Expand French|fa=yes|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.
| logo = Rothmans benson hedges logo.png
| logo_size = 250
| image               = Tabac-rock-city.jpg
| image_size = 250
| image_caption       = RBH factory in [[Saint-Roch, Quebec City]]
| alt                 =  
| type                = [[Subsidiary]]
| hq_location         = 
| hq_location_city    = [[Toronto]]
| hq_location_country = [[Canada]]
| industry            = [[Tobacco industry|Tobacco]]
| parent              = [[Philip Morris International]]
| subsid = 
| products = [[Cigarette]]s
| brands = 
| website             = {{URL|https://www.rbhinc.ca/}}
}}
'''Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.''' ('''RBH''') is a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of [[tobacco]] products. It was formed by the merger of the Canadian units of [[Rothmans International]] and the [[Benson & Hedges]] [[brand]] –owned by [[Altria Group|Philip Morris]].

When [[British American Tobacco]] bought Rothmans in 1999, it spun off its 60% [[share (finance)|share]] of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges as a [[public company]]. In 2008, the remaining 60% of RBH was acquired by [[Philip Morris International]] (PMI), which had controlled 40% of the firm, for [[US Dollar|US$]] 2,000 million, making PMI the sole owner of the company.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Staff|date=31 July 2008|title=Philip Morris se quedó con Rothmans Benson & Hedges|trans-title=Philip Morris stated with Rothams Benson & Hedges<!--via translate.google-->|work=El Conista|location=Argentina|url=https://www.cronista.com/negocios/Philip-Morris-se-quedo-con-Rothmans-Benson--Hedges-20080731-0129.html|access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Staff|date=31 July 2008|title=Philip Morris to buy Rothmans for C$2 billion|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rothmans-philipmorris/philip-morris-to-buy-rothmans-for-c2-billion-idUSWNA544220080731|access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref>  At the time, RBH was the second-largest cigarette maker in Canada.<ref name=":0" /> The acquisition by PMI was targeted to Rothmans Inc, which was a [[holding company]] for RBH.<ref name=":0" />

==Brands==
RBH owns or otherwise controls a wide variety of cigarette brands.  Some of these are listed and expanded upon below:

* '''Accord''': A discount/value brand. Brand variants offered are Red, Blue, and Green (Menthol).
* '''[[Belmont (cigarette)|Belmont]]''': Another flagship brand, offered as King Size, Regulars, and Compact King Size (Belmont Edge (Micro in [[Quebec]])).
* '''Belvedere''': A premium cigarette brand, offered in both regular and king size. Belvedere-branded empty cigarette tubes and rolling tobacco are also available for purchase.
* '''[[Benson & Hedges]]''': The company's [[core product|flagship]] brand offered in three formats: King Size (Black, Gold, Silver), 100s (Regular, Sterling and DeLuxe, with a [[menthol cigarette|menthol]] version) and Superslims (Black, White, and Menthol).
* '''[[Canadian Classics]]''': A mid-tier brand. This brand is known as Québec Classique in Quebec. In 2021, Quebec Classique Special as rebrand to Quebec Classique Special Par Next and [[Nex Quebec Classique Special(cigarette)|Next QC Spécial]]
* '''[[Craven A]]''': This brand is a part of the RBH "premium brand strategy", principally within the Canadian [[Market (economics)|market]].  The brand has experienced "long-term declines in [[market share]]", in part due to the elimination of all sponsorship activities in Canada in October 2003.<ref>[http://www.rothmansinc.ca/English/2004/AnnReport/08_MDA.pdf Rothmans Inc. 2004 Annual Report: Management's Discussion and Analysis].  Retrieved 2005-02-19.{{Dead link|date=December 2020|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>  The brand has been closely associated with a number of [[entertainment]] events in Canada. Among these has been the "[[Just for Laughs]]" Canadian Comedy Tour in March 1999.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=Spring 1999|title=Craven A "Just for Laughs"|url=http://www.smoke-free.ca/filtertips02/Craven%20A.htm|url-status=dead|magazine=A Review of Cigarette Marketing in Canada|edition=2nd|publisher=Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207193406/http://www.smoke-free.ca/filtertips02/Craven%20A.htm|archive-date=7 February 2005|access-date=19 February 2005}}</ref>
* '''[[Davidoff]]''': As of April 2007, RBH has started [[import]]ing Davidoff cigarettes for the Canadian and Australian markets.  The package does, however, state that they are still made in [[Germany]], unlike some international cigarettes sold in Canada, which are made only in Canada.
* '''Mark Ten''': A low mid-tier brand offered in Quebec and [[Atlantic Canada]].
*'''[[Next (cigarette)|Next]]''': A budget brand.
* '''Number 7''': A mid-tier brand.
*'''[[Philip Morris USA|Philip Morris]]''': A budget brand
* '''[[Rothmans International|Rothmans]]''': The company's other flagship brand.

==Lawsuits==
Rothmans has been involved in a number of [[lawsuit]]s in Canada. In a key suit which commenced in 2006, Rothmans was [[crime|criminally]] [[prosecutor|prosecuted]] for [[fraud]] and [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] for supporting the [[cigarette smuggling|smuggling of cigarettes]] on the [[black market]] in the early 1990s. The [[allegation]] was that Rothmans encouraged smuggling in order to be able to convince [[state government|Canadian governments]] to reduce [[sin tax|cigarette taxes]] and thereby discourage that very smuggling.<ref>{{Cite report|url=http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/file/pdf/Tobacco_related%20Litigation%20in%20Canada%202006.pdf|title=Tobacco-related Litigation in Canada|last1=Smoking and Health Action Foundation|last2=Non-Smokers' Rights Association|date=March 2006|page=7<!--no page numbers in the report-->|author-link2=Non-Smokers' Rights Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009182945/http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/file/pdf/Tobacco_related%20Litigation%20in%20Canada%202006.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2006}}</ref> Rothmans pleaded guilty to the charges in 2008 and agreed to pay a [[fine (penalty)|fine]] of C$100 million,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Haché|first=Trevor|date=19 August 2008|title=Imperial and Rothmans Admit Guilt in 1990s Cigarette Smuggling Crimes|url=http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/index.cfm?group_id=1522|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112100124/http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/index.cfm?group_id=1522|archive-date=12 November 2008|publisher=[[Non-Smokers' Rights Association]]|location=Canada}}</ref> and C$450 million in payments for a decade after the initial fine.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.rbhinc.ca/}}

{{Philip Morris International}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothmans, Benson and Hedges}}
[[Category:Tobacco companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Philip Morris International]]