Prima (cigarette)

Prima is a Russian brand of cigarettes that was manufactured at the Kiev Tobacco Factory in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic since 1970. Today, it is owned and manufactured in Russia by various tobacco manufacturers.^[1][2]

Prima

An old Russian pack of Prima cigarettes, with a Russian text warning at the bottom of the pack.
Product type	Cigarette
Produced by	Kiev Tobacco Factory, various Russian tobacco manufacturers
Country	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Introduced	1970; 55 years ago (1970)
Markets	See Markets
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

History

Prima cigarettes were created by the leadership of the German Labor Front (DAF) during the occupation of Ukraine by Germany in the Second World War; the target market was guest workers. The package was painted with colors of Nazi symbols and the name was written in the German Blackletter font. In 1970, these cigarettes were produced again in the Soviet Union, becoming popular because of their low price (just 14 kopeyki) and the quality of their tobacco compared to another popular Russian brand, Belomorkanal. Prima cigarettes are now produced by a number of tobacco factories throughout Russia.^[3][2][4]

Markets

Prima cigarettes were sold in the following countries: Moldova, Transnistria, the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Belarus, Ukraine, the Soviet Union, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Israel and Indonesia.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

See also

• Smoking in Russia
• Tobacco smoking