Exotica sells, it seems, especially as smokers are pushed out of offices and restaurants-and farther out of the mainstream. Why has Gunsmoke, a recent new brand by Star Tobacco, found a market among thousands of Americans who like to light up? Its rugged “Western” blend somehow appeals to smokers in the heartland, and it burns a minute and a half longer than more conventional fare. Or take American Spirits, manufactured by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. It sells to (believe it or not) health-conscious smokers who like their smokes “all natural,” even though they contain more tar and nicotine than Marlboros. Even R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is trying to hide its sullied corporate image behind a marketing like Jumbos a pseudo-independent label, Moonlight Tobacco Co. The tiny target for Jumbos: folks who want fat cigarettes that are a cross between everyday butts and Castrosize stogies.
Jumbos aren’t about to rival Camels or Kents. But microcigs are more than a passing fad. With the industry under attack from antismoking activists, folks are smoking less but smoking better, says Diana Silvius Gits, owner of the Up Down Tobacco Shop in Chicago. “Before, people would smoke like they were going to a fire. Now they enjoy what they’re smoking.” Barriers to entry are falling, too. Small manufacturers can now buy used equipment from big companies who’ve modernized. As “boutiques” spring up in the shadow of the Big Boys, more puffers will have microsmokes to go with their microales. .
