Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 10, 1990 TAG: 9003102251
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GENEVA LENGTH: Medium
The company plans to invade the U.S. market next with the cigarette, which it calls "Gorbatchow," enticing smokers with its slogan, "A Taste of Freedom."
The World Health Organization was less than enthusiastic about the launch of the new brand. The U.N. agency estimates that nearly 3 million people will die this year from tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.
Peter Studer, owner of the small company that introduced the brand, said the name "Gorbatchow" was formed by mixing spellings of the Soviet president's name in various languages.
The medium-strength cigarette is a blend of 21 types of tobacco - some Soviet, some American.
Studer said in an interview that cigarette smokers need "a new image."
"We think people are bored with a tired cowboy on an almost dead horse," he said, an apparent reference to the advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes, which are popular in the Soviet Union.
He said he had not sought permission to use the president's name.
Studer plans to travel to the United States today in preparation for the launch of Gorbatchow International in North America, and he said he has high hopes for sales.
Posters announcing the cigarette's debut on the Swiss market Friday heralded: "Gorbatchow International Breaks Through The Wall" - joining the ranks of companies rushing to capitalizing on the crumbling of the Berlin Wall.
"Just as Gorbachev is changing the world, so the new Gorbatchow heralds perestroika on the international cigarette market," gushed the accompanying publicity material.
The cigarette was first sold in shops in Hungary and Bulgaria last May.
Ironically, Soviet smokers are as yet unable to sample the cigarette named after their leader. But Studer said he has plans to introduce it in hard currency shops in Moscow.
by CNB