Noblesse () is an Israeli brand of

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

s, currently owned and manufactured by Dubek. The name "Noblesse" comes from the French term Noblesse oblige, which means ''"nobility obliges"''.

History

Noblesse was first launched in 1952 in a distinct green, 80mm, 'soft-pack' which has never been dramatically changed. It is the oldest in Dubek's product line. The cigarette also has the highest tar (19 mg) and nicotine (1.3 mg) amounts available on the Israeli cigarette market. Despite Dubek's original plans to make Nobblesse cigarettes a premium priced cigarette, its cheap price made it popular with generations of soldiers, Kibbutzniks and even prisoners who wanted to smoke but not burn too much money. However, in more recent times, the Noblesse brand is barely smoked in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

anymore, as it holds a 1% sale rate amongst the soldiers and other brands like

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...

and

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

have become more popular over the years. Dubek has since made three additions to the Noblesse family: A lower nicotine/tar blend branded Noblesse Virginia Blend, an even lower nicotine/tar blend in a flip-top pack branded American Blue and Noblesse Golden Virginia. Noblesse cigarettes are also distributed or sold by the

to imprisoned soldiers within

Israeli military prison Israeli military prisons are military prisons in Israel for guarding soldiers who committed crimes during their service. Prison sector history The need to create prisons in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arose as the soldiers' discipline deterior ...

s. Noblesse cigarettes have a special place in the Israeli history, as a feature of young people who want to realize the values of the 1960s "Sex and drugs and rock and roll phase" Apparently this place was given to the brand due to the distribution of free Noblesse cigarettes in

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

, which has become a feature of the youth and the

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

. In March 2013, it was reported that Dubek contacted Ben Ezra, the

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

supervisor, to approve their brands (which are Noblesse, Time and Golf) as Kosher for

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. During the holiday, Jewish law forbids

Chametz ''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings Transliteration, transliterated from ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden to Jews on the holiday of Passover. ''Chametz'' is a product that is b ...

– anything consisting of grains that may have come in contact with water, starting the process of fermentation. Some Jews, including many who are not religiously observant the rest of the year, spend weeks before Passover cleaning their homes and belongings to rid them of any morsel of food considered to be Chametz. In January 2015, as taxes on cigarettes were increased in Israel, Noblesse cigarettes were sold significantly less as consumers chose to buy cheaper brands.

Marketing

Noblesse has appeared in some Israeli newspapers via advertisements. In 2015,

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

packs were released, featuring a special

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

pattern on all the pack variants.

Markets

Noblesse is or was sold in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(As Nobless),

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Products

*Noblesse Filter: Full flavor, length: 80 mm, available in soft pack *Noblesse Golden Virginia: Medium flavor, length: 80 mm, available in soft pack *Noblesse Blend: Refined flavor, length: 80 mm, available in soft pack

References

{{Cigarettes Israeli cigarette brands Products of Israel Israeli brands Dubek brands

History

Marketing

Markets

Products

See also

References