 An old Russian pack of Jin Ling cigarettes, with a Russian text warning at the bottom of the pack. | |
| Product type | Cigarette |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Baltic Tobacco Company |
| Country | Russia (alleged) |
| Introduced | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
| Markets | Ukraine,Russia,China and everywhere else[1][2][3] |
| Carcinogenicity:IARC group 1 | |
Jin Ling is aRussian brand ofcigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by theKaliningrad-based manufacturer Baltic Tobacco Company (Russian:Балтийская табачная фабрика, BTC). Other places where this brand is manufactured includeUkraine,Moldova,Cyprus and theUnited Arab Emirates.[4]
The name is derived from Jinling, the older name ofNanjing, where the brand was originally developed by the Chinese state-owned Nanjing Tobacco Factory.[5] After the brand died out, the Baltic Tobacco Company re-introduced it in 1997.[5][6]
The packet design resembles the American brandCamel in colour, typeface and layout,[7] but instead of a camel, it features amouflon. Jin Ling cigarettes are only sold illegally and the brand is the first to be designed explicitly for smuggling.[8] It has been reported by customs officials as the "most seized" brand in Europe;[5] in 2007, 258 million Jin Ling cigarettes were seized byauthorities in EU countries.[9] In 2017, during a bust by the North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards officers, a red variant of Jin Ling cigarettes was discovered. Previous Jin Ling cigarettes only had a yellow colour.[10]
There are 19 factories in Russia where Jin Ling is produced, but there are also factories in Ukraine and Moldova. Some of these factories may be acting as a franchise, but the Jin Ling brand is also licensed to other manufacturers.[11]
In May 2010, the German tabloidBerliner Kurier reported that fake Jin Ling were being made, which were no longer distinguishable from the genuine, and which could include feathers,mites, wood,pesticides,mold spores, rat droppings and other pollutants, because they were manufactured under very poor production conditions.[12]
In April 2014 the cigarette was linked to a house fire inSpalding in which a 71-year-old woman, June Buffham, had died. Emma Milligan, aTrading Standards Officer atLincolnshire County Council, said: "Jin Ling cigarettes are so dangerous because they don't go out when not actively being smoked, potentially causing a horrendous house fire, like the case here."[13]
