The Biggest Collection Of Full Cigarette Packs In The World

March 20, 2006 9:38 AM

Igor Sergeev has been collecting full, unopened cigarette packs from all over the world since 1976. His site now features over 21,000 photos, arranged in alphabetical order by brand name. Some are fascinating simply for the way they differ from what we're used to seeing at the 7-11; others are straight-up nine kinds of awesome.
posted by Gator (38 comments total)

Related.
posted by Gator at 9:39 AM on March 20, 2006

Unless I'm missing something, a link to the main website would have been helpful as well.
posted by stopgap at 9:44 AM on March 20, 2006

Wait. Why did I quit smoking? Why!? *begins ravenously chewing nicorrette*
posted by jrb223 at 9:45 AM on March 20, 2006

Also related.
posted by Plutor at 9:53 AM on March 20, 2006

Billy Beer
posted by mischief at 9:54 AM on March 20, 2006

My collection of about 12 (decidedly empty) packs of cigarettes from around the world is no longer all that impressive.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:55 AM on March 20, 2006

Also:
A King Size Black Man.

Heh.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:58 AM on March 20, 2006

Whoops, I meant to add "or by country" to the "alphabetical order" part.

stopgap, are you sure you don't have something crazy in your eye? ;)
posted by Gator at 10:02 AM on March 20, 2006

This is great. I love the art on the Brazilian Carlton "collection design" packs. (as linked under "straight-up")
You'd never find anything so cool in a country where the government actively discourages smoking.

1999: 1 2 3 4 5
2000: 1 2 3 4 5
2001: 1 2 3 4 5
2002: 1 2 3 4 5
posted by kyleg at 10:19 AM on March 20, 2006

Great post. I thought I'd never see a packet of these again. Been off the evil weed for two years... not. tempted. at all.
posted by gsb at 10:35 AM on March 20, 2006

aww man, i really need a pack of 'kinds'. smoking is cool anyway, but smoking that would make it 10 times cooler. i'd have to wear a pirate costume to smoke em though.
posted by Mach5 at 10:44 AM on March 20, 2006

I visited Russia in 1993. One of my first impressions when I arrived (in the stunning city of St. Petersburg) was, "Man ... this place smells really different." One of the elements of that particular blend of aromas was these, the dreaded Byelomorkanal.

They weren't cigarettes, or "cigaryeti"; they were something peculiarly Russian called "papirosi". It looked like a cigarette, but when you got a closer look it seemed as if people were smoking them backwards, lighting the filter end. At least 2/3 of the thing was a hollow paper tube, and what looked like a filter was actually where the tobacco was -- the cheapest, vilest, harshest tobacco you'd ever seen, smelled or tasted. You wouldn't believe how bad these things smelled.

Byelomorkanals were everywhere, clamped in people's mouths with the end of the paper tube squashed flat (which looked weird). An article I read said they were popular among "the poor, prisoners and soldiers". They were certainly cheap, and apparently the factory made 5 billion of them per year.

I brought a few packs home for a friend of mine who at the time was a pretty heavy smoker, and these things floored him.

Unless I'm missing something, a link to the main website would have been helpful as well.

You're missing something. That's just the numeric IP version of the first link in the post.
posted by chuq at 11:04 AM on March 20, 2006

This makes me want to take up smoking. Great post!
posted by languagehat at 11:10 AM on March 20, 2006

Why do I think that this is more likely to encourage smoking than not. It certainly has me wishing I smoked, and smoked these.
posted by OmieWise at 11:15 AM on March 20, 2006

MetaUnFiltered. Great post!
posted by 327.ca at 11:16 AM on March 20, 2006

languagehat and OmieWise, try the lights. All the skull but half the guilt.
posted by Gator at 11:28 AM on March 20, 2006

Er, that is, mach5 and OmieWise.
posted by Gator at 11:29 AM on March 20, 2006

I miss the ads for Golden Bat from back in Japan.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:55 AM on March 20, 2006

I don't know how many Da Vinci's Inquest fans we have out there, but if you watch the Canadian show you will be convinced everyone in Vancouver smokes. The cigarettes usually are in a flat box instead of a package. I've always wanted to get some like that, but knowing Canada they're most likely 6.00 a pack.
posted by Tablecrumbs at 12:04 PM on March 20, 2006

He only seems to have a few of the Canadian-size (25 cigs instead of 20) packs, and none with the newer colour warnings.
posted by Pseudoephedrine at 12:16 PM on March 20, 2006

My collection of about 12 (decidedly empty) packs of cigarettes from around the world is no longer all that impressive.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:55 AM PST on March 20 [!]

That made my day.
posted by bradth27 at 12:27 PM on March 20, 2006

These were all over the UK some years ago. Popular with the Goth crowd, as I recall.
Interesting post, thanks.
posted by punilux at 12:32 PM on March 20, 2006

Great post. I wish it was easier to find variety in cigarettes in my part of the woods. The most exotic I've ever gotten were Djarum Blacks (cloves), which are quite nice. But usually, I just stick to my Camel Turkish Royals.

(I'm pleased to say that I'm down from a pack a day to no more than 4 cigarettes a day since the first of the year. One day it'll be none... though it feels like I'll have to wait until after my my ski trip to hell.)
posted by kryptondog at 3:11 PM on March 20, 2006

I've read that at one time, the entire clove crop of Indonesia went into cigarettes. The "spice islands" were even importing cloves to meet demand at one point, if you can imagine.

(Have an actual reference for this somewhere, too lazy to look it up.)
posted by gimonca at 3:14 PM on March 20, 2006

More clove cig trivia: Dji Sam Soe is Chinese dialect for 2, 3, 4--as seen on the label--which were the original proprietor's lucky lottery numbers.
posted by gimonca at 3:22 PM on March 20, 2006

mighty fine post, thank you.
posted by Substrata at 4:18 PM on March 20, 2006

great post.
posted by rooftop secrets at 4:29 PM on March 20, 2006

I'd been meaning to post this site for a while. Good post Gator. All that's left for me to do is to link another site I found whilst researching.
posted by tellurian at 4:46 PM on March 20, 2006

I especially liked the Camel collection.
posted by tellurian at 4:49 PM on March 20, 2006

I don't smoke anymore, but these two were always my favorite smokes ever (Double Happiness and Caballero).
posted by moonbird at 5:19 PM on March 20, 2006

Screenhead-ed. Or something.
posted by maxreax at 7:06 PM on March 20, 2006

Moonbird: Double Happiness??? Outta yer mind. They taste like nothing!

I like me some Baisha (White Sand).
posted by saysthis at 8:56 PM on March 20, 2006

These are awesome, and like 2 bucks out of a vending machine.
posted by SweetJesus at 9:33 PM on March 20, 2006

I always liked the look of Peace and Seven Stars out of Japan. Thanks Gator.
posted by samh23 at 11:25 PM on March 20, 2006

L.S./M.F.T.
posted by rxreed at 1:16 AM on March 21, 2006

[this is good]
posted by Grod at 2:55 AM on March 21, 2006

oh! look at these! this is what i smoked when i was backpacking austria - MEN! (in her best ridiculously cocky impression) 'would you like some MEN?'

ok, ok, i'll admit that it doesn't quite translate as funny as when we were there... but suffice to say that someone got their camera swiped for a short duration and went home unknowingly harboring some naughty pictures on their film. ah to be 23 and able to live off $5 again... sigh.
posted by eatdonuts at 7:04 AM on March 21, 2006

My brand (Camel™ Non-Filtered) demands equal representation!

[great post, btw]
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:29 AM on March 21, 2006