Smoke, smoke, smoke le cigarette

April 13, 2009 12:20 PM

What is the best equivalent for Camel Ultra Lights among Canadian convenience-store cigarette brands in Quebec?

My wife, who is American, likes to smoke on occasion, and her preferred brand is Camel Ultra Lights. The local stores here in Quebec do not carry any such cigarette, and after a disastrous experiment with DuMaurier Premier, I'm hoping somebody can tell the the closest garden-variety cigarette that delivers the same sort of smoke as the Camel Ultra Light (Marlboro Ultra Lights used to do for her in a pinch, but those are equally unavailable).

The DuMaurier Premiers (which are the lightest cigarettes DuMaurier makes) were too harsh.

posted by Shepherd to food & drink (8 comments total)

caveat: i've never had camel ultra lights, though i've had regular camels.

i was pretty disappointed by canadian cigarettes in general. they all taste icky to me, for reasons inexplicable. therefore, i would generally end up smoking some kind of import: usually gauloises, which also come in an ultra light (i think it's the one in the yellow box). they aren't as universally available as say dumaurier's, but lots of convenience stores etc carry them. i'd try that first.

also, belmont milds are popular among the college aged set and live up to their name. they don't taste like very much at all, at least to my marlboro-red-deadened senses. a lot of people seem to like them though, so it may be worth a try. i didn't like them though.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 1:18 PM on April 13

Have you checked out the brands at the cigarette stores in Kahnawake? I have a friend whose mom likes Camels, but settles for something she can get super cheap at the Another Dam Cigarette Store (which has a hydroelectric dam on its sign) or one of the others over there. I'll inquire.
posted by zadcat at 1:26 PM on April 13

Not sure about Canadian availability, but I am an Ultra-Light smoker and the lightest ones I've been able to find (a personal quest) are American Spirit UL's with the white and yellow box. Second choices to that have been Export A UL's and Winston UL's. Just datapoints, but assuming you can find them, Winstons are supposedly the Philip Morris (or whoever makes them now) "no additive" option.
posted by rhizome at 1:43 PM on April 13

I don' think they sell "light" and "ultra-light" cigarettes in Canada anymore, for legal reasons.
posted by furtive at 2:18 PM on April 13

A Canadian smoker says:
Yes, Canadian cigarettes are terrible. Gauloise are likely your best bet, but you'll likely have to find a specialty tobacconist as they are imported (and thus, significantly more expensive). That cigar-like "American" flavour sadly isn't an aspect of any Canadian cigarette.

furtive: We're not allowed to have 'mild' or 'light' on packages (the government thinks we're too dumb to realize that 'mild' doesn't mean 'less-killy'), but the brands do differentiate... usually by the colour of the boxes; dark=tire fire... silver=not worth the $9/pack.

Best choices:
Belmonts = mild taste combined with hearty nicotine content (they have normal and "silver")
Export A = almost a sweeter taste, maybe a bit more American-style

(Du Mauriers are foul)
posted by rhinny at 4:51 PM on April 13

Friend say his mom smokes the "Native" brand but they're pretty strong, so you may want Madame to try a few others before buying a supply.
posted by zadcat at 4:52 PM on April 13

Oof, I see you're in Sherbrooke. I've never been there, don't know what the situation is over there re reserves and smokes.
posted by zadcat at 4:54 PM on April 13

Have you noticed if any of your local deps have those plastic add-on cigarette filters? Those might tone down the mild-but-not-mild-enough cigs.

I don' think they sell "light" and "ultra-light" cigarettes in Canada anymore, for legal reasons.

They do; it's only the terminology that had to be changed. Take, f'r'instance, the Peter Jackson line (from Imperial Tobacco's website): Full Flavour, Select Flavour, Smooth Flavour, Mellow Flavour. Or Matinée: Regular, Mellow, or Subtle.
posted by CKmtl at 6:54 PM on April 14