For the French bicycle manufacturer, see Gitane

Gitane

Gitane is a French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsoring riders such as Jacques Anquetil , Lucien Van Impe , Bernard Hinault , Laurent Fignon ,...

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Gitanes (ʒi.tan, "gypsy women") is a brand of French cigarettes, sold in many varieties of strengths and packages. It is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco

Imperial Tobacco

Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...

 following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA

SEITA

SEITA , was the former French state-owned tobacco monopoly. It merged in 1999 with its Spanish equivalent, Tabacalera, to form Altadis.- See also :...

 before that. Originally rolled with darker or brun (brown) tobacco, in contrast to 'blondes'. In honour of the name, the cover sports a silhouette of a Spanish gypsy woman playing the tambourine. The boxes have always featured the colours black, blue and white.

There is a distinction between the "blonde" style of current Gitanes, and the classic style of Gitanes Brunes, both of which are sold in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, most commonly in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The classic Gitanes Brunes tobacco achieved its characteristic and distinctive "bite" by using a fire-flued method of curing the tobacco, and a "rice" type of rolling paper which differs from most cigarettes. The result was a cigarette that was both strong in flavor and had a distinctive aroma.

Gitanes Blondes are available, filtered, in Light and Regular. The Gitanes Brunes are available in 70mm versions, filtered and un-filtered.

Production in France recently halted, with one factory remaining operational in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. This is mainly due to the rise on tobacco levies imposed by the French government in the wake of health advice, which has forced the price of French cigarettes up to the level of those from the USA, with the more aggressively promoted brands such as Marlboro now taking the majority market share

Market share

Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...

.

During 2010 the size and content of regular Gitanes was reduced.

Gitanes Maïs (corn) are made with yellow corn paper.

History

• 1910: First appearance of Gitanes, without a filter, in four versions.
• 1918: First appearance of Gitanes Maïs, which are a success in rural areas.
• 1956: Appearance of the first Gitane filter.
• 1981: "Light" versions are first marketed.
• 1986: First Blondes launched, and are a failure.
• 1988: First appearance of extra light versions
• 1991: Gitanes ultra light are introduced.
• 1990/91: simultaneous launch of a new version of Blondes with ultra light.
• 1999: Merger of SEITA
  SEITA
  SEITA , was the former French state-owned tobacco monopoly. It merged in 1999 with its Spanish equivalent, Tabacalera, to form Altadis.- See also :...
  
  and Spanish Tabacalera gives birth to Altadis, current producer of Gitanes

Varieties

• Gitanes Brunes (without filter)
• Gitanes Brunes Filtre
• Gitanes Brunes Légères
• Gitanes Blondes
• Gitanes Blondes Légères
• Gitanes Maïs
• Gitanes Maïs Filtre
• Gitanes Internationales