What is (or was, for the quitters/would be for the non-smokers) your preferred brand of cigarette and why?
I’m a (former) Camel man. I tried all brands but always came back to the ol’ Camel Lights. That’s just what my friends smoked, and since it was the one I started with was the one I stuck with. Would go with Winston if Camels weren’t available for some reason and would buy the occasional menthol (Newport, Kool) but always came back to the Camel Lights.
Well, I am a former smoker but I have a tough time answering this question. For the most part I smoked Canadian brands which aren’t listed. While I lived in the US I smoked, for the most part, either Camels or Marlboros. The brand I smoked just before I quite was American Spirit and I did enjoy those.
Why have I never heard of ‘American Spirit’? I smoked for about 40 years and traveled in the US a lot (and, of course, was exposed to all the cigarette ads on TV, in magazines, etc., even while living in Canada). Still, until reading this thread, I can’t recall every hearing about them. Is it a new brand?
And, with respect to the poll, I smoked Kools the most so chose them. But, the best, by far, were what we called “North Carolina Camels”. We used the term to describe the smokes we’d buy in NC - they were a breed apart and needed to be distinguished from normal Camels. So fresh, soooo smooth. Could they really have been bad for me?
Apologies for not being able to include anyone’s specific brand. I created the list off the top of my head; while I certainly could have rattled off dozens of other brands, I don’t believe many of them would get much recognition from the masses as opposed to the major brands I was able to recall.
Spirits have been around for quite a while. Their angle is “all-natural”; “100% additive-free.”
they taste like ass
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
I hear you. Have a friend who’s been smoking them for a while and completely agree they taste terrible. Not only do they taste bad but they just don’t scratch that itch when I want a smoke. It’s not just the nicotine I want, it’s the chemicals too.
I don’t really smoke much at all anymore. Maybe a pack every three weeks, with long periods without. But I used to smoke a pack and a half a day.
My favorites were in this order:
Lucky Strike Lights (when you can find them)
Camel Lights
Gauloise Ultra Lights (Yellow)
Marlboro Lights always tasted stale to me, and their ultra lights tasted like smoking air.
I do like the American Spirits, as well. They were very tasty cigarettes. I don’t get the ass comparisons in this thread. They also burned a lot slower than any of the other brands, so smoking one of them seemed a more satisfying experience, too. Dunhills were very good, too, but it’s been a long, long time since I’ve had them.
American Spirit - yellow box
I don’t smoke regularly, but having tried several different brands I settled on these for when I do.
Morleys.
Ha, same here. I got Winstons a lot because they had a “buy two, get one free” promo pretty often. When I was a freshman in college I bought Kents a lot too for no particular reason. Always went back to Camel Lights though. I wonder what they’re called now that they can’t use “light” in the brand name any more? I’ll never forget that distinctly poisonous taste to that first mouthful of Dew after smoking a Camel down to the filter on a cold November evening. 
Nostalgia aside, it’s not something I look forward to doing ever again. It’s been 2 years, 3 months, and 13 days since my last cigarette and I don’t plan on breaking that streak. 
They’re kind of a hippie cigarette. Until 5-10 years ago or so, you couldn’t find them in gas stations or super markets, you had to go to coffee shops (or head shops) to get them.
I started by smoking Marlboros, because I think that’s what the kids like.
But a year or two in, I was complaining about how I had a cough and my ever-so-wise cousin (second cousin, who is my mom’s age) told me I should switch to Winston as they wouldn’t make me cough.
He was actually right. I’ve never gotten a smoker’s cough in the last 15 years (yay? thanks?) I smoke Winston Ultra Light and if I smoke Marlboro Ultra Light, I still get a cough.
So…great for me 
Newports. Known amongst my people as Nig Cigs*.
*It’s O.K. when we say it.
Ach so!
Thanks.
They were discontinued a couple of years ago. If you find 'em, they’re gonna be stale.
I think it depends on the area. They’re not quite that recent. I was buying American Spirits at the local convenience store in 1995. This was, though, in a college area, where American Spirits are a bit more popular than with the general public.
Well, that explains why I haven’t seen them since about 2005 or so. And here I just thought that nobody stocked them.
I started when I was 15 years old I started smoking Winston’s, why? Because that was what my friend’s father smoked, and that is where I got them from. Fast forward a few years, I was smoking Marlboro Reds. I smoked them for a good bit… Then, about 7 years ago, me and my friends (including my friend mentioned above) all tried quitting together (didn’t work out). After going through the whole light, ultra light, etc rotation… When I started back up, I started smoking Marlboro Mediums. That is what I am currently smoking. Of course, all these cigarettes were 100’s, and except for the Winstons when I first started, everything was in the box.
However, I have to quit… I have to be cigarette free by January 2nd 2011, I’ve cut down, but haven’t quit yet… Why am I quiting? Because my best friend is moving in with me then, and she can’t stand the smell of cigarettes, and can smell them on me really well. I really enjoy her company (I’m a male, but nothing is between us. She’s like a sister to me), and don’t want to do anything to piss her off and make her move out. So… I’ve been cutting down lately, but have to be clean right after New Years.