Työmies (cigarette)

Työmies
An old Finnish pack of Työmies cigarettes.
Product type Cigarette
Owner Tupakkatehdas Fennia (Fennia Tobacco Factory).
Country Finland
Introduced 1902 (1902)
Discontinued 1984
Markets Finland

Työmies was a Finnish brand of cigarettes, which was owned and manufactured by the "Tupakkatehdas Fennia" ("Fennia Tobacco Factory"). "Työmies" is Finnish for "worker" or "working man".[1]

History

The Greek businessman Achilles Kyriako Christides founded the "Tupakkatehdas Fennia" ("Fennia Tobacco Factory") in 1899 and started manufacturing the Työmies cigarette in 1902. The brand was so popular that Fennia soon focused exclusively on its manufacture. The factory changed the design of Valter Jung and Emil Fabritius and in the Koskikara Quarter at the corner of Ruoholahdenkatu and Köydenpunojankatu street in Helsinki in 1913.[2][3] Työmies is a filterless cigarette, which means it has a hollow paper cone that was open. In order to reduce the risk of tobacco spilling in the mouth, a short wooden sleeve that came with the package had to be attached to the cigarette. If the sleeve was lost, the cone could flatten or block with a cotton swab or the like. Amongst the people, Työmies, Klubi, and other spin-wraps were called "pillitupakki" or "pöllitupakki".[4] Finland's coat of arms, a lion with a sword, was printed on the boxes of the Työmies cigarettes.

Työmies, which was now known as "the people's cigarette" was marketed, among other things, as an economic one: "Smoking Työmies cigarettes is economical as, in terms of tobacco quantity, a box of Työmies cigarettes is equal to 2–3 boxes of cigarettes with a paper holder." (Finnish Social Democrat, May 1932)[5][6] Various posters for this brand were also made during the 1930s.[7]

In the fall of 1945, when the luxury supplies were put on ration stamps, a forest worker who searched for four pinocchiometers was able to buy a "forestry site power pack" containing coffee, sugar and Työmies cigarettes.[8] Boxes of Työmies cigarettes were also part of the food parcels given to Finnish soldiers fighting the Russian efforts to seize Finland during World War II.[9][10]

Especially through the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, foreign cigarette brands arrived in Finland and the domestic production slowed down. Työmies was manufactured for decades up to 1984 when the Medicines Board prohibited its production as such because of the high levels of tar and nicotine.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "What kind of cigarettes (brand) did the soldiers smoke? • Axis History Forum". Axis History Forum.
  2. ↑ Eeva Järvenpää: Työmies oli Fennian kysytyin tupakka Helsingin Sanomat 3.5.2009. Viitattu 17.8.2013.
  3. ↑ Eeva Järvenpää: Fennian tupakkatehdas hallitsi Ruoholahdenkadun päätä Helsingin Sanomat 3.5.2009. Viitattu 17.8.2013.
  4. 1 2 Yle:Kysy mitä vain Luettu 13.11.2007
  5. ↑ "TamPub etusivu" (PDF). tutkielmat.uta.fi.
  6. ↑ "Tuusulan työläiskotimuseo -- _DSC6544.jpg - Uudenmaan museo-opas". www.museo-opas.fi.
  7. ↑ "Tyomies Cigarettes". www.limitedruns.com.
  8. ↑ Metsämiesten säätiö - Viisi vuosikymmentä metsän ja metsämiesten asialla Luettu 13.11.2007
  9. ↑ "BrandTyomies - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  10. ↑ "Työmies". www.zigsam.at.
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