Raffles (cigarette)

British cigarette brand

Raffles

An old British pack of Raffles cigarettes

Product type| Cigarette
Owner| Philip Morris USA in the U.S., Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Produced by| Philip Morris USA in the U.S., Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Country| United Kingdom
Discontinued| May 2011
Markets| United States, United Kingdom[1][2][3][4]
Previous owners| Imperial Tobacco
Tagline| "One Step Ahead"
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Raffles (also known as Players in the United States; now Virginia S by Raffles) was a British brand of cigarettes which was owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the U.S. and by Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.[5][6]

## History

[edit]

In August 2001, Imperial Tobacco announced that it had entered into an agreement with Philip Morris International for the distribution and sale of Marlboro, Raffles and Chesterfield cigarettes in the U.K.[7]

In May 2011, the name of the brand was changed from Raffles to Virginia S by Raffles. Philip Morris Marketing Director Xavier Ducarroz described the rename as a move to a "contemporary look and feel."[8][9]

## Advertising

[edit]

Various poster and magazine adverts, as well as promotional merchandise, were made to promote the brand in the 1980s and 1990s.[10][11][12]

## See also

[edit]

* Tobacco smoking

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "BrandRaffles - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
2. ^ "Players". www.zigsam.at.
3. ^ "Raffles". www.zigsam.at.
4. ^ "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
5. ^ "BrandRaffles - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
6. ^ Gallop, Annabel. "About the Raffles Family Collection". www.bl.uk.
7. ^ "Imperial Tobacco Türkiye". www.imperialtobacco.com.tr.
8. ^ "Philip Morris unveils Virginia S – the new name and look for Raffles cigarettes". 10 May 2011.
9. ^ "Phillip Morris rebrands Raffles".
10. ^ "Tobacco Products Ads". Advertisement Gallery.
11. ^ "1986 Raffles Cigarettes Pack Offer leaflet". www.interesting-treasures.co.uk.
12. ^ "Pages 2 & 3 - Contents". www.butlins-memories.com.

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Philip Morris International

Brands|

* Apollo-Soyuz
* Basic
* Belmont
* Benson & Hedges
* Bond Street
* Cambridge
* Canadian Classics
* Chesterfield
* Colt
* Craven A
* F6
* IQOS
* Karo
* L&M
* Lark
* Longbeach
* Merit
* Marlboro
* Muratti
* Next
* Parliament
* Philip Morris
* Portugues
* Raffles
* Ritz
* SG
* Veev
* Virginia Slims
* Zyn

Subsidiaries|

* Papastratos (Greece)
* PMFTC, Inc. (Philippines)
* Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (Canada)
* Sampoerna (Indonesia)
* Swedish Match (Sweden)
* Vectura (England)

Litigation|

* Imperial Group
* PMI v. Uruguay

People|

* André Calantzopoulos
* Louis Camilleri
* John Hogan
* Philip Morris
* Jacek Olczak

Media|

* Marlboro Man (1954–1999)
* Marlboro Friday (1993)
* "Tobacco" (Last Week Tonight) (2015)

* Tobacco companies
* Commons

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