Gitanes
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Gitanes is a brand of French cigarettes. It is currently owned by Altadis. Originally rolled with darker or brun tobacco, in contrast to USA 'blondes'. Available with or without filter. The name Gitanes means "gypsy women", and as such, a silhouette of a Spanish gypsy woman with tambourine appears as the box-art. Production in France recently halted, with one factory remaining operational in the Netherlands. This is mainly due to the rise on tobacco levies imposed by the French government in the wake of health advice, which has forced the price of French cigarettes up to the level of those from the USA, with the more aggressively promoted brands such as Marlboro now taking the majority market share. Gitanes are no longer available in the USA and are therefore obtaining cult status.
[edit] Varieties
- Gitanes Brunes (without filter)
- Gitanes Brunes Filtre
- Gitanes Brunes Légères
- Gitanes Blondes
- Gitanes Blondes Légères
- Gitanes Maïs
[edit] Trivia
The logo was used for the album Shades by JJ Cale, replacing the dancing gypsy woman with a guitar player.
From 1976 to 1995, Gitanes was the biggest sponsor of the Ligier Formula 1 team.
Urban Legend says that John Lennon of The Beatles used to smoke Gitanes in order to deepen his voice. In the manga/anime series NANA, Ichinose Takumi, the leader of Trapnest, is also a smoker of Gitanes.
"Gitanes Caporal" was the preferred cigarette of the famous character Arsène Lupin III from the anime Lupin III.
