Cigarette case

Cigarette case
Aluminium cigarette case
A cigarette case covered in black leather with silver trim, showing the outside and the inside filled with cigarettes.

A cigarette case or cigarette box is a sturdy, most commonly metal container to store small numbers of cigarettes safely from crushing. In modern times they are also made of plastic.

In its simpler form (sometimes called cigarette tin) it is an approximately cigarette-length flat metal box opening flatwise symmetrically on hinges into two halves, each storing one row of cigarettes, often held in place by a spring or an elastic strap. Typical cigarette tins in the United States of the 1920s–1930s stored 50 cigarettes, hence their name "flat fifties" at the time.[1]

Other typical versions are sturdy cases to store standard cigarette packs. However there are quite a few patents for advanced cigarette cases, [2][3] including a cigarette case with mobile phone.[4]

Within smoking culture, cigarette cases may be fashionable accessories. As such, they may be made of precious metals, adorned with artistic engravings, monograms[5] and jewels. Peter Carl Fabergé, while most famous for his Fabergé eggs, also manufactured exquisite cases of gold and gems for the family of the Tsar,[6] some of which, (e.g. those owned by Danielle Steel) are reportedly worth up to $25,000 and appreciating.[7] Alternatively, they may be leather-covered. Cigarette cases are also collectible items.[6]

The commonly known so-called "silver cigarette cases" are most often chrome-plated, although there are silver-plated or polished aluminum,[8] in addition to genuine sterling ones.

Cigarette cases used to be popular with soldiers, and many World War I and World War II veterans (e.g., James Doohan) stated that cigarette cases saved their lives by stopping bullets.[8]

In 2003 the European Union witnessed a surge of cigarette case sales, attributable to the introduction of prominent black-bordered warning labels on cigarette packs, e.g., "Smokers Die Younger", etc., by an EU directive in January 2003. Cigarette cases were a way to avoid the invasive labels (another way being various satirical stickers, such as "You could be hit by a bus tomorrow").[8]

The United States Census Bureau, for the purposes of industry statistics, includes manufacturing or adorning of cigarette cases into the category NAICS 339914 "Costume jewelry and novelty manufacturing".[9]

Due to their compactness, conveniently fitting in a pocket, cigarette cases are often used to store or conceal small items.

In popular culture

  • In some of the James Bond films, Bond is issued gadgets which are concealed in cigarette cases.
  • In the film Black Swan, Lily uses a cigarette case.
  • Francisco Scaramanga, the antagonist in the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun, assembles his signature weapon the Golden Gun from a cigarette lighter, a pen and a cigarette case.
  • The Team Fortress 2 spy class is equipped with a disguise kit hidden inside his cigarette case, which he can use to disguise himself as another class and team.
  • In Boardwalk Empire the main character Nucky Thompson can often be seen with a cigarette case.
  • In Chinatown, the protagonist, J.J. Gittes, carries around a cigarette case.
  • In the film Titanic, the valet, Mr. Lovejoy, uses a cigarette case.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Campus Publicity", January 28, 1935, Time
  2. ^ Cigarette case equipped with disposable ash receptacle
  3. ^ Sanitary cigarette case
  4. ^ A mobile phone with cigarette case
  5. ^ "Dedications on Silver Cigarette Boxes, an article of Association of Silver Collectors
  6. ^ a b "Smoking Related Collectables", originally published in the UK monthly magazine What It's Worth?)
  7. ^ Vickie L. Bane, Lorenzo Benet (1995) "The Lives of Danielle Steel: The Unauthorized Biography of America's #1 Best-Selling Author" ISBN 0-312-95575-8 p. 340
  8. ^ a b c Day, Elizabeth (15 Oct 2003). "Film star glamour of cigarette cases hides truth for smokers". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3302893/Film-star-glamour-of-cigarette-cases-hides-truth-for-smokers.html. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
  9. ^ NAICS 339914

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • cigarette case — noun a small flat case for holding cigarettes; can be carried in a purse or a pocket • Hypernyms: ↑case * * * cigarette case or cigar case noun A small case for carrying cigarettes or cigars • • • Main Entry: ↑cigar …   Useful english dictionary

  • Cigarette box — may refer to: Cigarette pack Cigarette case This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly t …   Wikipedia

  • Cigarette pack — A pack or packet of cigarettes is a rectangular container, mostly of paperboard, which contains cigarettes. The pack is designed with a flavor protective foil, paper or biodegradable plastic, and sealed through a transparent airtight plastic film …   Wikipedia

  • Cigarette holder — A cigarette holder A cigarette holder is a fashion accessory, a slender tube in which a cigarette is held for smoking. Most frequently made of silver, jade or bakelite (popular in the past but now wholly replaced by modern plastics), cigarette… …   Wikipedia

  • case — Synonyms and related words: Bible truth, Smyth sewing, abessive, ablative, absolute fact, accepted fact, accusative, action, actual fact, adessive, admitted fact, afghan, alien, allative, ammunition box, anyhow, anyway, apoplectic, approximative …   Moby Thesaurus

  • case — I noun 1) a classic case of overreaction Syn: instance, occurrence, manifestation, demonstration, exposition, exhibition; example, illustration, specimen, sample, exemplification 2) if that is the case, I will have to find somebody else Syn …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • case — I noun 1) a classic case of overreaction Syn: instance, example, occurrence, occasion, demonstration, illustration 2) is that the case? Syn: situation, position, state of affairs, circumstances …   Synonyms and antonyms dictionary

  • Cigarette smoking for weight loss — is a practice dating to early knowledge of nicotine as an appetite suppressant. Tobacco use was associated with appetite suppression among pre Columbian indigenous Americans, and old world Europeans.[1] For decades, tobacco companies have… …   Wikipedia

  • cigarette — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ lighted, lit, unlit ▪ He accidentally dropped a lighted cigarette on the chair. ▪ half smoked ▪ illicit ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • Cigarette — For other uses, see Cigarette (disambiguation). Cig redirects here. For other uses, see Cig (disambiguation). Two unlit, filtered f6 brand cigarettes from Germany. A cigarette (from Mayan Siyar; to smoke rolled tobacco leaves [1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”