Markets
The cigarettes are available in Gold or Silver forms, and in some countries also as Red, Green (Menthol), Blue, White and Black. Japan Tobacco also manufactures Hamlet cigars.
In the United States, the brand is owned by Philip Morris USA and available varieties include Kings (box), Menthol (box), Multifilter Kings (soft pack), DeLuxe (box), DeLuxe Menthol (box), Luxury, and Luxury Menthol (soft pack or box). Beginning in 1967, US television ads for the Benson and Hedges brand featured a musical theme (written by Mitch Leigh[20]) called "The Disadvantages Of You;" of which an adapted version charted briefly for a group called The Brass Ring. The commercials humorously depicted various "disadvantages" encountered by smokers struggling to adapt to the unusual length of Benson and Hedges 100s, which were "longer than king-size, at the same price as king-size". These commercials ran until cigarette advertising was banned on US television in 1971. The related print advertising campaign ran for several years afterward.
The brand was or still is sold in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Pakistan, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Ceuta and Melilla, Italy, Cyprus, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Slovenia, Serbia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, United States, Mexico, Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia .[21][22][23][24][7][25][26]
UK market
In the 1980s, the company's products were advertised in a series of posters and cinema films which featured the gold pack in various surreal juxtapositions and transformations, devoid of words and people. In 2001, brand was changed from Special Filter to Gold, and a Silver version was introduced, with reduced tar content and 0.1 mg less nicotine, at a slightly cheaper price. In 2008, a 14 cigarette pack was launched, alongside existing 10 and 20 packs. In July 2009, a Gold and Silver versions of rolling tobacco were launched. As of June 2011, the company's UK brands were Gold, Silver, White and Gold Superkings, and rolling tobacco. Discontinued former brands in the UK have included: Sovereign, Gold Bond, Virginia Red, Virginia Blue, and Black.
In October 2012, a new cigarette called Benson and Hedges Dual was introduced. If the smoker prefers a menthol cigarette, they press the capsule inside the filter and the cigarette goes from regular to a menthol tasting cigarette. In 2020, however, this cigarette was taken off the market due to the EU menthol cigarette ban.
As of, they have 19.4% of the UK cigarette market, meaning it is the most popular cigarette brand in the UK.[5]
Overseas markets
In the 1930s, Benson & Hedges (Overseas) Ltd was established by Abraham Wix to handle international trade. This branch was acquired by British American Tobacco
