Parliament Cigarettes

Parliament

An old American pack of Parliament cigarettes
Product type	Cigarette
Owner	Philip Morris USA in the U.S, Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Produced by	Philip Morris USA in the U.S, Philip Morris International outside of the U.S.
Country	United States
Introduced	1931; 87 years ago (1931)
Markets	See Markets
Tagline	"Only the flavor touches your lips", "Tobacco tastes best when the filter's recessed"
Website	MyParliament.com

Parliament is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA in the United States and Philip Morris International outside of the United States. "Parliament", translated into Japanese, means "noble" while in British English it means "British parliament".

The brand was launched in 1931 and is distinctive for its recessed paper filters. It was originally used as an advertising gimmick when cigarettes did not have filters. The first commercial cigarette filters came into use in 1935.

Cigarette filters became common in most cigarettes in the 1950s. In the 1940s and 1950s, the brand was marketed for its unique filters, with advertisements reading, "Only the flavor touches your lips", and "Tobacco tastes best when the filter's recessed". The brand also claimed that the recessed filter prevented tar from making contact with the smoker's mouth, unlike standard filters. However, this recessed would also explain the popularity of the cigarette in another way: the sleeve would be suitable for snorting cocaine.

Parliaments are one of few brands of cigarettes on the mainstream market to feature a recessed paper filter. Marketing campaigns by Philip Morris stated that the filter was designed to prevent tar from making contact with the smoker's mouth, thus making them lower in tar content as well as enhancing flavor.

In Korea, brands like Marlboro , Philip Morris, Dunhill, Parliaments and various other Western cigarettes were sold in 1987 as import opening to prepare for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Parliament make up 1.9% of U.S. cigarette sales, in contrast to Marlboro, which represent 41.1% of the U.S. cigarette sales. From the 1950s on the cigarette had a reputation for being popular among affluent smokers.

It is the 12th best-selling international brand and the 4th largest PMI brand In 2016, the volume of produced Parliament cigarettes was 46 billion. The brand is sold in more than 30 countries.