Premier was a smokeless cigarette released in the United States in 1988 by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. It worked by heating and aerosolizing tobacco flavour and was intended to reduce or eliminate the unhealthy side effects associated with smoking, both to the smoker and to the people around the smoker. citation needed

The project took several years to develop at a cost of more than $325 million. citation needed

While RJR itself questioned whether the device functioned adequately as a nicotine delivery device, activists derided it for its potential for use in delivery of other drugs. citation needed It never achieved popularity, as smokers complained about a charcoal like aftertaste, and although it looked like a conventional cigarette, special instructions were required to teach smokers how to light it. RJR estimated that it would take two or three packs for a smoker to acquire a taste for Premier, but in practice many smokers only smoked one cigarette and shared the rest of the pack. It was withdrawn from the market in 1989, less than a year after its introduction.

R.J. Reynolds reintroduced the concept behind the Premier cigarette as the Eclipse brand in the 1990s.

References edit

Cigarette holder — wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1. a b «Cigarette Holders, Cases, and Accessories». TheLadySmokes. Retrieved 2009 12 10.
2. History of Men’s Fashion, Nicholas Storey, 2008, p93.
3. «Audrey Hepburn A Biography» Warren G. Harris, 1994
4. «Smoke Screen Stars Who Make Smoking an Art». Smoke Magazine, Fall 1997, Volume II,Issue 4.
5. «Jayne Mansfield with cigarette holder». (Golden Age Hollywood image archive).
6. «Jackie After Jack Portrait of the Lady» Christopher Anderson, 1999
7. «Rita Hayworth». / (database of 40s era Hollywood star photography).
8. Princess Margaret A Life Unfulfilled, Nigel Dempster, 1981
9. «Wendy Richard interview». , 18 June 2006.
10. «Johansson (Female Celebrity Smoking List)». 2009 11 28. Retrieved 2009 12 10.
11. «FDR’s cigarette holder». antique auctions site (expired auction still viewable).
12. McCann, Graham (2008 09 05). «I say! What a bounder… All dandy comic legend Terry Thomas really liked was ‘jolly eager girls'».
13. Enrico Caruso my father and my family, Enrico Caruso Jr and Andrew Farkas, 1990, page 374
14. Vanity Fair photographs of an age, 1914 1936, 1982, p97
15. «Ian Fleming’s Style». A Suitable Wardrobe, 19 April 2007.
16. Noel Coward A Biography, Philip Hoare, 1995, p227
17. «The Hunter S. Thompson Interview». Freezerbox Magazine, Adam Bulger, 03.09.2004.
18. Tynan, William (1994 12 05). «THEATER One Small, Unhappy Family». Time Magazine 5 Dec 1994.
19. Spoto, Donald. Enchantment The Life of Audrey Hepburn. New York Harmony Books, 2006. Page 203. ISBN 0 307 23758 3