Capstan
Product typeCigarette
OwnerImperial Brands
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1894 (1894)
MarketsSee Markets
Previous ownersW. D. & H. O. Wills
Tagline"Time for a Capstan", "Have a Capstan"
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Capstan is a British brand of unfiltered cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Imperial Brands. The brand dwindled in popularity when the health effects of tobacco became more widely known; few shops sell them today.

History

A pack of Capstan cigarettes, c. 1930

Capstan was originally launched by W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1894, and was one of the most popular brands of cigarettes in the early-twentieth century.[1] W.D. & H.O. Wills spent £4,000 (equivalent to £477,509.50 in 2018) on promoting the Capstan cigarettes in 1900, and these amounts were in addition to regular charges for advertising, including showcards and newspaper advertisements.[2] It was W.D. & H.O. Wills' answer to Player's Medium cigarettes.[3] In 1973, the UK Government published a table of the tar and nicotine contents of cigarettes available in the UK market, and Capstan Full Strength contained, by a margin of 0.21 mg/cigarette, the highest nicotine content (3.39 mg/cigarette) of any brand, and the second-highest tar content.[4][5] However, since 2004 cigarettes sold in the UK have had a cap of 10 mg of tar and 1 mg of nicotine per cigarette.

Various advertising posters were made for Capstan cigarettes, including one to encourage female workers in factories during World War II to smoke Capstan to relax at the end of a working day. One of the most well-known slogans at the time was "Time for a Capstan".[6][7][8] Another popular slogan after the end of WWII was "Have a Capstan".[9][10] A few celebrities advertised this brand, such as English actress Evelyn Laye and British star David Niven.[11]

The song "Saturday's Kids" from The Jam's 1979 album Setting Sons features the lyric "Their mums and dads smoke Capstan non-filters/Wallpaper lives 'cause they all die of cancer".

Markets

Capstan is mainly sold in the United Kingdom, but also was or still is sold in Germany, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Bangladesh and Chile.[12][13][14]

Cigarette cards

Capstan was one of the tobacco companies to include advertising cards in their packs of cigarettes. Some of the collections featured were the cricket series featuring notable players (1907)[15] and the Australian rules football collections that includes depictions of club flags and colours in 1908 and 1913.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Stubbed out: the 21 most iconic cigarette packets of all time". The Telegraph. 20 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Alford, B. W. E. (5 November 2013). W.D. & H.O. Wills and the development of the UK tobacco Industry: 1786–1965. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-58426-8 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Vintage cigarette packets". www.retrowow.co.uk.
  4. ↑ Russell, M. A. (1976). "Low-tar medium-nicotine cigarettes: a new approach to safer smoking". Br Med J. 1 (6023): 1430–3. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.6023.1430. PMC 1640397. PMID 953530.
  5. ↑ "Timeline: Smoking and disease". 30 June 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  6. ↑ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Advertisement for Capstan cigarettes". teara.govt.nz.
  7. ↑ "Real cigarettes in the Regal – Going to the Pictures". goingtothepictures.org.uk.
  8. ↑ "AP1588K – Never Go Without A Capstan, Cigarettes (30 × 40 cm Art Print)". www.retrocards.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Amazon.com: TOBACCO ADVERT. Capstan Cigarettes – 1951 – old print – antique print – vintage print – Fashion art prints: Posters & Prints". www.amazon.com.
  10. ↑ "Cigarette & Tobacco adverts". Pinterest. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  11. ↑ "Capstan – The Ardross-man". ardrossman.wordpress.com. 18 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "BrandCapstan – Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  13. ↑ "Capstan". www.zigsam.at.
  14. ↑ "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
  15. ↑ Cricket trade cards on Sportspages.com
  16. ↑ Australian Rules Footy Cards 1931 to 1940

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