In the United States alone, about 34.1 million adults are active smokers, making up about 14% of the total population. The average pack of cigarettes is $6.28. However, many companies out there offer versions that are more luxurious and expensive, marketed for people who care more about ingredients and classy branding.
These packs can cost many times more than the average. Is it worth it? Continuing reading to learn more about the 8 most expensive cigarette brands you can buy.
- Djarum Cherry
- Black Devil
- Woodbine Virginia Blend
- Silk Cut Purple 100s
- Dunhill
- Regal Blue
- Rothmans Original
- Treasurer
Company: Djarum
Location: Indonesia
photo source: Kings
Djarum Cherry cigarettes erupted onto the US market in 2003 and are now distributed across Europe, Asia, and even Africa. No other clove cigarette had the aromatic cherry flavor that this one did when it debuted. Djarum Vanilla and Djarum Menthol debuted around the same time.
A pack of Djarum Cherry cigarettes costs $15.80 on the high end. The filter itself is sweetened so that the cherry flavor persists through the entire smoke, mixing with the cigarettes’ inherent clove flavor.
Did you know?
Clove cigarettes are also known as “kretek.” They are unique to certain areas of the world, particularly Indonesia where many of them are manufactured. They incorporate cloves into the tobacco mixture to give them a unique flavor.
Company: Huepink & Bloemen
Location: Netherlands
photo source: Wikimedia Commons
The Black Devil cigarettes are a Dutch brand, one of the rare times on this list we’ll be venturing away from the United Kingdom. They’re manufactured by Huepink & Bloemen with an iconic stylish look. Where else can you get a black cigarette? The “Black Devil” logo is scrawled in shiny silver on the side.
The Black Devil cigarettes are famous for their unique flavors, including the taste of vanilla with an undertone of spicy chai. They smell like burning incense, as opposed to the normal cigarette smell. Black Devils cost $18.80 per pack.
Did you know?
Black Devil cigarettes have always been marketed to a younger crowd, which was a problem for the brand when government agencies started cracking down on youth-centric advertising post-2010. The French government, for instance, no longer permits the sale of flavored cigarettes to avoid fruit, chocolate, or other appealing flavors being used to market smoking to teens. Black Devils still get sold in countries that permit flavored cigarettes, however.
Company: Imperial Tobacco
Location: England
photo source: Flickr
Woodbine Virginia Blend cigarettes, despite what you may have figured with that name, is an iconic English cigarette brand. Today, they are owned by the Imperial Tobacco brand (as of 2019). However, the brand’s iconic status goes all the way back to 1888, making them about the oldest brand still going.
W.D. & H.O. Wills founded this brand to be sold cheaply and quickly. The name comes from the woodbine flower, which is a species of honeysuckle, meant to inspire thoughts of freshness and English authenticity. At their most expensive, Woodbines now sell for $20.35 per pack.
Did you know?
Woodbines were the most well-known brand of cigarette to British army men during World War I. In fact, a famous chaplain in the British army named Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy MC, famous for delivering cigarettes and Bibles to troops on the front, was given the nickname “Woodbine Willie” in reference to this brand.
Company: Japan Tobacco
Location: United Kingdom
photo source: Wikimedia Commons
Silk Cut is a cigarette manufacturer based in the UK but owned by Japan Tobacco’s subsidiary, the Gallaher Group. So the company has ties around the world. The brand’s iconic packages are clean and white, with a square containing the logo in either blue, red, silver, white, green, or in this case, purple to signify royalty.
Founded in 1964, Silk Cut is one of the new kids on the block when it comes to tobacco companies. Their cigarettes can sell for up to $20.55 per pack.
Did you know?
When Silk Cut debuted, their cigarettes were 75% tobacco and 25% Cytrel. Cytrel is a synthetic compound made of cellulose developed in the 1950s to create a tobacco substitute that was safer but tasted the same. It was popular in the 1970s but is no longer added to Silk Cut cigarettes, which now strive to be additive-free.
Company: British American Tobacco
Location: United Kingdom
photo source: Dunhill
Dunhill in the United Kingdom makes luxury cigarettes that are known for high-quality tobacco and their iconic crest on a field of red. According to their label, they use a tobacco packing process that omits unnecessary additives. They are not to be confused with Dunhill International, which is technically the same company but not the luxury brand version and therefore not as expensive.
Unlike some of the other manufacturers on this list, Dunhill is a pretty small company so retailers often limit the number of packs you can buy at one time. They cost around $20.69 per pack.
Did you know?
Dunhill was founded in 1907, but the modern brand of these cigarettes has only been produced since 1999. It was named after the tobacconist Alfred Dunhill, who was active in the late 1800s.
Company: Regal
Location: United Kingdom
photo source: Cgarsltd
This England-based cigarette company was known as Embassy Regal Filter in 1969. They quickly became popular throughout the United Kingdom, garnering a reputation for being classier than the average brand of smoke.
The company as it was originally known, based in the historic Nottingham factory, closed in 2014. Now, Regal Blue cigarettes are made at subsidiary factories in Poland and Germany owned by Imperial Tobacco. They are still able to sell them at high prices compared to the competition, with the luxury cigarettes still leaving site and store shelves for $21.29 per pack (or the equivalent in English pounds).
Did you know?
One of the reasons the original company closed its manufacturing chain was a huge scandal in 2002, which cost the company billions of pounds. It was discovered that middlemen were selling counterfeit Regal cigarettes manufactured in unregulated Chinese plants. They were found to contain not only normal cigarette contents but also dirt, banned substances, sawdust, and more. Nearly 25% of cigarettes smoked in 2001 are thought to have been these dangerous counterfeits.
Company: Rothmans International
Location: United Kingdom
photo source: Wikipedia
Rothmans Original Cigarettes are well-known in the UK. The company is one of the oldest in the business, founded in London in 1890. The company went defunct in 1999, however, which has made the remaining cartons of Rothmans cigarettes acquire value as collector’s items.
The British American Tobacco company took over the brand and closed the Rothmans plants in Darlington and Spennymoor in the early 2000s. Currently, the packs cost $21.55 each, making them some of the most expensive you can buy.
Did you know?
In the 1890s, Louis Rothman ran a kiosk on Fleet Street (the same place better-known for a certain demon barber). It wasn’t until 1900 that he opened a showroom and debuted the Pall Mall cigarettes. 5 years later, King Edward VII gave him a royal warrant and by 1929, the company was big enough to be listed in the London Stock Exchange.
Company: The Chancellor Tobacco Company Limited
Location: United Kingdom
photo source: Chancellor Tobacco
The most expensive cigarettes are Treasurer cigarettes. They are manufactured by The Chancellor Tobacco Company Limited. Their luxury cigarettes are longer than King Size, 90mm to be exact, and are often compared to the pure Virginia tobacco that makes the most expensive cigarettes coveted around the world.
Every Treasurer cigarette has a film of hot foil stamped with the Treasurer Logo on the tip. The cardboard shoulder boxes are embossed with the logo, domed in foil, and exude luxury before you even open the package. The packaged is squarer than a normal cigarette box and contains 20 cigarettes. When buying the Luxury Gold version, they can cost up to $67 per pack.
Did you know?
Treasurer London cigarettes were first introduced to the market in 1999. Shipped from the United Kingdom but available in 30 countries, the aluminum foil case and embossed logo work is designed to give simple smokes the glamor they once had when stuck between the fingers of movie stars and queens.
The Takeaway
Cigarettes are no longer in vogue they way they used to be. With more health research and government restrictions every year, they probably never will be again. However, expensive cigarettes still retain a certain classy allure. These 8 brands want to keep the spirit alive with these ultra-expensive luxury cigarette packs. Some of them are even working to make cigarettes healthier, with less additives and preservatives. That has to count for something, right?
