Dunhill is a

Westminster, London Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckin ...

-based

luxurious "Luxurious" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). Written by Stefani and fellow No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal, the track contains a sample of the Isley B ...

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

owned and manufactured by Dunhill and

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...

. The brand name commemorates the English

tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retailer of tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specia ...

, entrepreneur and inventor

Alfred Dunhill Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill t ...

. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Dunhill is registered and manufactured in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

History

Dunhill was founded in

on 10 March 1907 when tobacconist and inventor Alfred Dunhill opened a small tobacconist's shop on Duke Street in the

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

area. He offered tobacco blends tailored for the individual customer. Dunhill was introduced in 1908 and was, less than glamorously, called the Absorbal. It was designed to counter any perceived health risk and had ''a world first'' - a cotton wool filter tip. Its slogan was the ''"Hygienic Cigarette"''. Dunhill cigarettes had a royal warrant from 1927 until 1995. In 1939 the brand was introduced in the United States by

Philip Morris USA Philip Morris USA is the American tobacco division of the American tobacco corporation Altria, Altria Group. History Creation The company's namesake Philip Morris (tobacconist), Philip Morris was born in Whitechapel, United Kingdom in 1835, ...

who leased the marketing rights for the U.S. and in 1962, "Dunhill International" was introduced. Dunhill cigarettes are usually priced above the average for cigarettes in the region where they are sold due to the use of higher-quality tobacco. ''Dunhill'' (minus the "''International''") is a more expensive version produced by BAT, and are sold in European (including Russia), Asia-Pacific, South African and Canadian markets. Dunhill cigarettes were favoured by

gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

journalist

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...

. Dunhill also markets a line of cigarillos in Malaysia. It is made of 100% tobacco inside out, whereby even the cigarette wrapper is made from tobacco using homogenized tobacco leaves.

Africa

In 2012, it was reported that British American Tobacco was breaking anti-tobacco rules in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

by illegally advertising their Dunhill brand in both countries. It was reported that in South Africa, a 14 year old girl was giving away the cigarettes, but also that BAT engages in industrial espionage, intensive cross-border smuggling, competitor tyranny, and infiltrating governments. Despite South Africa having one of the toughest anti-tobacco laws in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the company failed to comply with the law, pushing on in both government fronts and covert advertising and promotions. In Nigeria meanwhile, BAT controls 84% of the cigarette market. In 2010, while markets in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and South Africa declined, BAT's profit from the African and Middle East regions grew by £134 million to £858 million, driven largely by its Nigerian market.

Markets

The brand is or was sold globally, in nearly 70 countries.

In popular culture

The cover art for " The 'Sweetest Girl'", a single by British pop band

Scritti Politti Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, England, by Welsh singer-songwriter Green Gartside. He is the only member of the band to have remained throughout the group's history. Beginning as a punk-inspired collect ...

, pays homage to the packaging of Dunhill.

References

External links