WARNING: Cigarettes are addictive.
Camel and Newport are the two biggest brands of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and together they are why Reynolds is the second-largest cigarette maker in the United States. Camel is the brand Reynolds built in 1913 and has never sold; Newport is the brand Reynolds paid $27.4 billion for when it bought Lorillard in 2015. Newport is larger, second in the country at about 13% of sales and the leading menthol brand; Camel is third at about 8%, with a bigger and more varied range. This page compares them on the public record: ownership, share, styles, formats, history and the menthol laws that matter more to Newport than to any other brand.
Last verified September 11, 2026 against the Oregon (July 2026) and New Jersey (June 2025) state tobacco directories, Reynolds American SEC filings, BAT’s reports, Nielsen data as reported by Tobacco Reporter, and the sources listed at the end. Style counts are directory listings, which certify a style for sale in that state; they do not mean every store carries it.
Side by side
| Fact | Camel | Newport |
|---|---|---|
| US manufacturer | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Tobaccoville, North Carolina | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem area, North Carolina |
| Parent | British American Tobacco, through Reynolds American (since July 2017) | Same |
| Launched | 1913, by R.J. Reynolds; “the first branded cigarette in America to be sold, advertised and promoted nationally” | May 1957, by Lorillard, as its first single-entry menthol brand |
| Ownership path | Reynolds throughout | Lorillard until June 12, 2015, when Reynolds American completed its $27.4 billion acquisition of Lorillard |
| Price tier | Premium; Reynolds’ “growth brand” alongside value-tier Pall Mall | Premium; “the leading menthol cigarette brand in the U.S.” (Reynolds 10-K) |
| US market share | 7.8% (Nielsen, December 2023); 7.9% (Tobacco Insider, January 2025) | 12.9% (Nielsen, December 2023); 14.1% in June 2020 |
| Rank | No. 3 | No. 2 |
| Styles in the state directories | 46 (Oregon) | About 40 across Oregon and New Jersey: 14 menthol and 26 labeled non-menthol |
| Lengths | King, 99s, Wides | King, 100s |
| Packs | Box; three soft packs | Box; four menthol soft packs |
| Menthol styles | 13 named menthol styles, plus 2 Crush capsule styles | 14, and the brand’s identity |
| Non-menthol styles | 31 | 26 labeled non-menthol, the first launched November 2010 |
| Unfiltered style | Yes: Regular Non-Filter Soft | None |
| Master Settlement Agreement | Reynolds, original participant (1998) | Same; Lorillard also signed in 1998 |
| Pack | 20 cigarettes | 20 cigarettes |
The lineups
Camel (46 styles)
| Family | Styles | Menthol | First listed in Oregon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Non-Filter Soft | 1 | No | 2003 |
| Classic: Filters (box, soft, 99’s), Blue (box, soft, 99’s), Gold (box, 99), Platinum, Menthol, Menthol Silver | 11 | 2 of 11 | 2017 to 2021 |
| Classic Wides: Filters, Blue, Menthol, Menthol Silver | 4 | 2 of 4 | 2017 |
| Classic Turkish: Royal, Gold, Silver | 3 | No | 2020 |
| Turkish Blend: Royal, Gold, Silver, Jade, Jade Silver | 5 | Jade styles carry Reynolds’ menthol color code | 2016 to 2017 |
| Crush: Crush, Crush Rich (with menthol option), Crush Menthol, Crush Menthol Silver, Crush Smooth Menthol, Crush Smooth Menthol Silver | 6 | 4 menthol, 2 capsule | 2008 to 2019 |
| Crisp Non-Menthol Green | 1 | No (see Regulation) | December 2022 |
| No. 9: Smooth Taste, Smooth Menthe | 2 | 1 of 2 | 2018 |
| Black Series: Red, Red 99, Gold, Blue, Blend 01, 02, 03 | 7 | No | 2024 |
| Craft: Red, Red 99, Gold, Gold 99, Menthol, Menthol 99 | 6 | 2 of 6 | May 2026 |
Newport (about 40 styles)
| Family | Styles | Menthol | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menthol (box and soft, kings and 100s) | 4 | Yes | The original green pack, 1957 |
| Menthol Gold Classic (box and soft, kings and 100s) | 4 | Yes | The former Newport Lights (1977) |
| Menthol Blue Classic, Smooth Select Menthol Classic, Menthol Platinum Blue (kings and 100s) | 6 | Yes | |
| Non-Menthol, Non-Menthol Gold (kings and 100s) | 4 | No | Red pack launched November 2010; Gold 2013 |
| Non-Menthol Select, Blend, Blend Silver (kings and 100s) | 6 | No | 2021 to 2024 |
| Non-Menthol Green (kings and 100s) | 2 | Labeled non-menthol | Named by the California Attorney General in 2023 |
| EXP Non-Menthol Max, Mix, Lux, Flex (kings and 100s) | 8 | Labeled non-menthol | 2021 to 2022 |
| Reserve Non-Menthol, Reserve Non-Menthol Gold (kings and 100s) | 4 | No | September 2024 |
| Signature (kings and 100s) | 2 | Listed as non-menthol in California | September 2024 |
Style names are as printed; “Smooth” and similar words are Reynolds’ style names, not this page’s description. Full pack listings: Camel and Newport.
History
Camel. R.J. Reynolds founded his company in Winston, North Carolina in 1875 and introduced four cigarette brands in 1913; Camel, a blend of Turkish and domestic tobaccos in a pack of 20, was the one that lasted, and the company’s own creative history calls it the first cigarette sold and advertised nationally in America. “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” dates to 1920 or 1921; filtered Camel to 1966; Camel Crush, the first widely sold capsule cigarette, to 2008. The company passed through RJR Nabisco (1985 to 1999), merged with Brown & Williamson’s US business on July 30, 2004 to form Reynolds American, and was bought outright by BAT on July 25, 2017. The Black Series (2024) and Craft (2026) sub-lines are the newest. Production is at Tobaccoville, near Winston-Salem, built in 1985. The Joe Camel cartoon campaign ended in 1997, and the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement barred cartoons in cigarette advertising from then on.
Newport. Lorillard introduced Newport in May 1957 as a filtered menthol, a year after Reynolds launched Salem, and named it for Newport, Rhode Island. Volume peaked at 8.7 billion cigarettes in 1965, fell to 4.1 billion in 1972, then grew for fifty years; Newport Lights arrived in 1977, and by the end of 1992 the brand was the third-largest in the US and the top menthol, having passed Kool and Salem. Lorillard launched Newport Non-Menthol in November 2010 and Non-Menthol Gold in 2013. Reynolds American agreed to buy Lorillard for $27.4 billion in July 2014, mainly to get Newport, and closed on June 12, 2015, selling Winston, Kool, Salem and Maverick to ITG Brands to satisfy the FTC; ITG kept making Newport at Lorillard’s Greensboro plant under a transition arrangement into 2016. Newport was about half of Reynolds’ cigarette sales by 2016. Since California’s menthol ban, Reynolds has added the EXP, Reserve and Signature non-menthol families, and BAT reported in 2024 that Newport soft packs were gaining share even as the brand’s total volume fell 11.1%.
Menthol and the law
Both brands are made by Reynolds, an original signatory of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. Newport’s 14 menthol styles, most of what the brand sells, cannot be sold at ordinary retail in Massachusetts (since June 1, 2020) or California (since December 21, 2022) or in cities and counties with local menthol ordinances; Camel loses its 13 menthol and 2 capsule styles in the same places but keeps 31. There is no federal menthol ban: the FDA’s proposal of May 4, 2022 was withdrawn January 21, 2025, and the lawsuit seeking to compel it was dismissed October 27, 2025.
Both brands’ California non-menthol styles drew enforcement. On April 25, 2023 the California Attorney General determined that Newport Non-Menthol Green was presumptively flavored, citing the cooling agent WS-3, and in May 2023 named Newport EXP Mix and Max, Camel Crisp and three Camel Crush Oasis styles as well. Reynolds sued on May 11, 2023 and dropped the suit on December 30, 2024 after the state amended its law (AB 3218 and SB 1230, effective January 1, 2025) to count a “cooling sensation” as a characterizing flavor. The Oasis styles are no longer marketed; Camel Crisp and Newport Non-Menthol Green remain in the directories, and independent testing published in 2025 found no detectable cooling agents in that year’s California versions of the green Newport and Newport Reserve. Texas, where Saucey delivers tobacco, has no menthol restriction.
FAQs
Are Camel and Newport made by the same company? Yes. R.J. Reynolds, owned by British American Tobacco, makes both. Camel has always been a Reynolds brand; Newport has been one since June 2015.
Which sells more? Newport, about 13% of the US market to Camel’s about 8%.
Is Newport only menthol? Not since November 2010. It now has 26 labeled non-menthol styles against 14 menthol, though menthol remains most of what the brand sells. Camel is the reverse: 31 non-menthol styles and 15 menthol or capsule.
Which is older? Camel, 1913. Newport dates to 1957.
Does either come unfiltered or in a soft pack? Camel has both: Regular Non-Filter and two filtered soft packs. Newport has four menthol soft packs and no unfiltered style.
What do they cost? Both are premium brands from the same maker, so the gap between them is small; tax, most of the price, is the same on both. See How Much Does a Pack of Cigarettes Cost?
Sources
- Oregon Department of Justice, Tobacco Brand Directory, July 21, 2026; New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Tobacco Directory, June 30, 2025; California Attorney General directory addition notices, 2021 to 2024
- R.J. Reynolds, Camel creative history, and Lorillard, Newport brand history (Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising); NCpedia, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
- Reynolds American, Reynolds American completes acquisition of Lorillard, June 12, 2015; Reynolds American Form 10-K filings for 2004, 2010, 2014 and 2016 (SEC EDGAR); BAT, BAT Completes Acquisition of Reynolds, July 25, 2017; BAT, Annual Report 2024, Combustibles
- Tobacco Reporter, Nicotine market shares stay flat through December, January 11, 2024 (Nielsen data); Tobacco Insider, USA: Cigarette Brands, January 24, 2025; Regulator Watch, New Newport brands boost overall sales, June 2020
- California Attorney General, Notice of Determination 23-04-A5 re Newport, April 25, 2023; Reynolds American, Reynolds files lawsuit in California, May 2023; Tobacco Prevention & Cessation, California’s non-menthol cigarettes in 2025; Public Health Law Center, Proposed Menthol Rules Withdrawn, February 7, 2025; Mass.gov, 2019 Tobacco Control Law
Saucey delivers tobacco where it’s legal to do so. Where that is, and what’s in stock, depends entirely on your address.
WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
The fine print
Saucey delivers nicotine products where it is legal to do so. What is available depends on your address. Enter it and we will show you what is in stock nearby. Nicotine products are 21 and up. ID at the door, every time, no exceptions and no negotiating with the driver.
