Sweet Afton was an Irish brand of short, unfiltered cigarettes made with Virginia tobacco and produced by P.J. Carroll & Co.,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, now a subsidiary of

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 ...

History

The Sweet Afton brand was launched by Carroll's in 1919 to celebrate the link between Dundalk and the national poet of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Robert Burns. Burns' eldest sister, Agnes, lived in

from 1817 until her death in 1834 and was buried in the cemetery of St. Nicholas's Church in the town. Carroll's thought that the brand would only be successful in Scotland if the carton simply had an image of Burns, or Scottish name on the packet, so the people of Dundalk were canvassed and the name Sweet Afton was chosen. The name is taken from Burns' poem "

Sweet Afton "Sweet Afton" is a lyrical poem describing the Afton Water in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was written by Robert Burns in 1791 and set to music by Jonathan E. Spilman in 1837, under the title ''Flow gently, sweet Afton''. This poem was originally publ ...

", which itself takes its title from the poem's first stanza: ''Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes'' ''Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise'' ''My Mary’s asleep by they murmuring stream'' ''Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream'' A larger version of the cigarette was also marketed under the brand name ''Afton Major''. This name served as inspiration for Carroll's later ''Major'' brand of tipped cigarettes. As of Autumn 2011, British American Tobacco no longer manufactures Sweet Afton cigarettes. The text ''"Thank you for your loyalty, unfortunately Sweet Afton will not be available in the future. However Major, our other Irish brand with similar tobacco will still be widely available for purchase."'' was written on a sticker that was put on the last line of packs, before it went out of production.

In popular culture

The brand proved particularly popular with post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Rive Gauche

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It was reputed to be Jean-Paul Sartre's preferred cigarette, and also featured prominently in Louis Malle's film ''

Le Feu Follet ''The Fire Within'' (french: Le Feu follet , meaning "The Manic Fire" or "Will-o'-the-Wisp") is a 1963 drama film written and directed by Louis Malle, based on the 1931 novel ''Will O' the Wisp'' by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, which itself was in ...

'', as well as a number of other Nouvelle Vague films. Margot Tenenbaum (played by

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

) from Wes Anderson's 2001 film ''

The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. ...

'' also smokes Sweet Aftons. Thomas Shelby, in ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

'', smokes Sweet Aftons. They are also the favoured brand of Gerhard Selb, the eponymous private investigator in the trilogy by

Bernhard Schlink Bernhard Schlink (; born 6 July 1944) is a German lawyer, academic, and novelist. He is best known for his novel ''The Reader'', which was first published in 1995 and became an international bestseller. He won the 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Earl ...

. The cigarette is also referenced in the 2021 Beatles documentary Get Back in episode 3 during the rooftop concert when Debbie, the Apple receptionist, offers one to Jimmy, the doorman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Afton (Cigarette) British American Tobacco brands