Henry's Smoking Column: Case studies 2453, 753 & 9

The Mayfair cigarette: a conundrum. One suspects that the manufacturers hope the branding brings to mind swanky addresses, debs parties and cut glass accents. What it actually conjures up is dreary xmasses playing endless games of monopoly and tawdry top-shelf men's magazines. A cheap and nasty stick with the taste of rhinoceros dung. Leave it!

The problem with Consulate is actually asking for it at the counter. You stride purposefully toward the attendant, attempting to exude a kind of Humphrey Bogart cool and place your order. The affect is that you actually want 'Embassy' but have forgotten the word. Essential for oral hygeine. Persist.

The origins of the 'Camel' brand are little known even in the world of cigarette research. The blend was originally hand rolled in Izmir in the west of Turkey and the sticks were known simply as 'sigara.' In the 1850s, the blend was so popular and difficult to get hold of that the crown prince of Jafuff traded his 5th wife, Roulana for a single box of 420 sticks. In her youth she had been a well-known and sought after beauty who frequented many of the smoking dens of Ankara and "smoked," so the trade was well publicised. Her hedonistic self-abuse and the rapid pace of the prince's life-style at that time, however, had taken its toll on her features and left her with the appearance of a dromedary. The nick-name persists to this day. Superlative student cigarette, especially in soft pack. Split 20 with a friend.