In the decade or so since it was mandated that cigarettes be sold in plain packaging, that awful grey that serves as backdrop to any newsagent or duty-free shop, I have often found myself marvelling at my own good fortune. For I smoke cigars, or cigarillos, not cigarettes – which means that, when I buy my smokes, they come in their proper colourful containers rather than the bland boxes that would not be out of place in a dystopian film.
My regular smoke of choice is Signature (the rebranded Café Crème) with the light-blue tin, complete with an illustration of the cigarillo, which has always stood out against the boring uniformity of my cigarette-smoking friends’ packets. Even though they have long been defaced by large, ugly health warnings, the packaging has always been unique. A reminder that we are not all the same.
Those times may be over. Ministers’ plans to insist on plain packaging for cigars have sparked fears from tobacconists that it will destroy the market and put storied retailers out of business, while limiting choice for those who wish to light up as imports dry up. » | Liam Kelly | Friday, August 21, 2026
Aren't you just sick to death of all the killjoys? I am. I despise the lot of them. — © Mark Alexander
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