Camel cigarettes
Camel is a brand of
cigarette introduced by
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (RJR) in
1913. It was for many years known for its high quality and smoothness. Camels contain a unique
Turkish and domestic (
American)
tobacco blend.
Camels come in the following varieties:
- Filters (regular and 100s)
- Lights (regular and 100s)
- Ultra Lights (regular and 100s)
- Menthol
- Menthol Lights
- Regular (unfiltered)
- Camel Rare
- Turkish Jade
- Turkish Gold
- many other special flavors are available as well, in tins.
In late
1987 RJR created
Joe Camel, a
mascot for the brand. In
1991, the
American Medical Association pubilshed a report stating that more 5- and 6-year olds could recognize Joe Camel easier that
Mickey Mouse or
Fred Flintstone. This led to the association to ask RJR to pull the Joe Camel campaign. RJR denied, but was followed with more appeals in
1993 and
1994. On
July 10,
1997 the Joe Camel campaign was retired. It was replaced with a more adult campaign.