Kent (cigarette)

Kent is a cigarette brand made by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. It was formerly made by Lorillard Tobacco, which was bought out by R. J. Reynolds in 2015. Kent was one of the first popular filtered cigarette brands.

Filter controversy

From 1952 to 1956, the Micronite filter in Kent cigarettes was made of crocidolite asbestos, which is the most carcinogenic type of asbestos. The filter had the asbestos exposed on the mouthpiece. This caused smokers to inhale large amounts of asbestos directly into their lungs. Despite being perhaps the most dangerous cigarette ever made, Lorillard advertised Kent as "the greatest health protection in cigarette history". In 1956, Lorillard quietly changed the filter material from asbestos to cellulose acetate, which is a semi-synthetic plastic made from cotton or tree pulp. Early versions of the cellulose acetate filter were dyed blue to match the appearance of the former asbestos filter, but the blue dye was removed around 1959.