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Marlboro and Newport are the two best-selling cigarette brands in the United States, and between them account for well over half of the cigarettes sold. Marlboro, from Philip Morris USA (Altria), has been the top brand since 1975 with about four in ten sales. Newport, created by Lorillard in 1957 and owned by R.J. Reynolds (British American Tobacco) since 2015, is second with about one in eight, and is the largest menthol brand in the country. They are built the opposite way round: Marlboro is a non-menthol brand with a menthol range, Newport a menthol brand with a non-menthol range. This page compares them on the public record.
Last verified September 11, 2026 against the Oregon (July 2026) and New Jersey (June 2025) state tobacco directories, Altria’s and Reynolds American’s filings, 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 | Marlboro | Newport |
|---|---|---|
| US manufacturer | Philip Morris USA, Richmond, Virginia | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem area, North Carolina |
| Parent | Altria Group | British American Tobacco, through Reynolds American (since July 2017) |
| Launched | 1924 as an unfiltered cigarette; relaunched nationally in 1955 with a filter and the flip-top box | May 1957, by Lorillard, as its first single-entry menthol brand; named for Newport, Rhode Island |
| Ownership path | Philip Morris throughout | Lorillard until June 12, 2015, when Reynolds American completed its $27.4 billion acquisition of Lorillard |
| Price tier | Premium; 59.4% of the premium segment in 2025 | Premium; “the leading menthol cigarette brand in the U.S.” (Reynolds 10-K) |
| US market share | 40.5% of retail sales in 2025, 39.5% in Q2 2026 (Altria); 45.6% in Nielsen convenience-store data, December 2023 | 12.9% (Nielsen, December 2023); 14.1% in June 2020; 14% in 2017 (Maxwell Report via CDC) |
| Rank | No. 1 since December 1975 | No. 2 since the mid-1990s; No. 1 menthol brand since 1992 |
| Styles in the state directories | 50 (Oregon) | About 40 across Oregon and New Jersey: 14 menthol and 26 labeled non-menthol |
| Lengths | 72 mm shorts, king (83 mm), 100s | King, 100s |
| Packs | Box only in Oregon | Box; four menthol soft packs (Menthol and Menthol Gold Classic, kings and 100s) |
| Menthol styles | 21 of 50 | 14, plus the brand’s identity |
| Non-menthol styles | 29 | 26 labeled non-menthol (Non-Menthol, Gold, Select, Blend, Blend Silver, Green, EXP, Reserve, Signature families), the first launched November 2010 |
| Unfiltered style | None | None |
| Pack | 20 cigarettes | 20 cigarettes |
The lineups
Marlboro (50 styles)
| Family | Styles | Menthol |
|---|---|---|
| Marlboro (red), 100’s, Eighty-Threes | 3 | No |
| Gold Pack, Silver Pack, Black Gold Pack (king and 100’s) | 6 | No |
| 72’s shorts (Marlboro, Gold, Silver, Green Menthol, Black Menthol) | 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Blend No. 27, Red Label, Smooth, Southern Cut (king and 100’s) | 7 | No |
| Cowboy Cut (Marlboro, Gold, Menthol; king and 100’s) | 6 | 2 of 6 |
| Special Blend black pack (Marlboro and Menthol; king and 100’s) | 4 | 2 of 4 |
| Special Select red and gold packs (king and 100’s) | 4 | No |
| Menthol, Menthol Gold, Menthol Silver, Menthol Blue, Menthol Slate (king and 100’s) | 10 | Yes |
| Menthol Ice, Bold Ice, Smooth Ice, Midnight Menthol, NXT Menthol (king) | 5 | Yes |
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), renamed after the 2010 descriptor ban |
| 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 October 2013 |
| Non-Menthol Select, Blend, Blend Silver (kings and 100s) | 6 | No | Select 2021; Blend Silver 2024 |
| Non-Menthol Green (kings and 100s) | 2 | Labeled non-menthol | See California note |
| EXP Non-Menthol Max, Mix, Lux, Flex (kings and 100s) | 8 | Labeled non-menthol | Added 2021 to 2022 |
| Reserve Non-Menthol, Reserve Non-Menthol Gold (kings and 100s) | 4 | No | Added September 2024 |
| Signature (kings and 100s) | 2 | Listed as non-menthol in California | Added September 2024 |
Newport Boost (menthol capsule), EXP Menthe and Platinum Silver appear in some retailer catalogs but not in the 2025 and 2026 directories. Full pack listings: Marlboro and Newport.
History
Marlboro. Philip Morris introduced Marlboro in 1924 as an unfiltered cigarette and for thirty years it was a minor brand. In 1954 and 1955 the company repositioned it “as a cigarette brand for men,” with a cork-tipped filter in a flip-top box with the red roof design, and went national in 1955; “Marlboro Country” advertising ran nationally from 1963. Altria’s timeline records it as the world’s best-selling cigarette from 1972 and the top US brand from the end of 1975. The menthol range now runs to 21 styles. Every PM USA cigarette is made at the Richmond Manufacturing Center, opened in 1973.
Newport. Lorillard, the oldest US tobacco company, 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 the next 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 completed the deal on June 12, 2015, selling Winston, Kool, Salem and Maverick to ITG Brands. Newport was about half of Reynolds’ cigarette sales by 2016. BAT bought the rest of Reynolds in July 2017. Since California’s menthol ban, Reynolds has added a run of non-menthol Newport families (EXP, Reserve, Signature) and BAT reported in 2024 that Newport soft packs were driving its US premium share gains even as the brand’s total volume fell 11.1%.
Menthol and the law
This comparison turns on menthol more than any other. Newport’s 14 menthol styles, its historical identity, cannot be sold at ordinary retail in Massachusetts (since June 1, 2020) or California (since December 21, 2022), nor in cities and counties with local menthol ordinances; Marlboro’s 21 menthol styles are subject to the same laws, but its other 29 are not. There is no federal menthol ban: the FDA proposed one on May 4, 2022, sent the final rule to the White House in October 2023, and withdrew it on January 21, 2025.
California’s law (AB 3218 and SB 1230, effective January 1, 2025) counts a “cooling sensation” as a characterizing flavor. Independent testing published in 2025 found no detectable cooling agents in that year’s California versions of the green non-menthol and Newport Reserve. Both brands received FDA substantial-equivalence orders. Texas, where Saucey delivers tobacco, has no menthol restriction.
FAQs
Are Marlboro and Newport made by the same company? No. Marlboro is Philip Morris USA (Altria); Newport is R.J. Reynolds (BAT), which bought it from Lorillard in 2015.
Which sells more? Marlboro, roughly three to one: about 40% of the US market against Newport’s about 13%.
Is Newport only menthol? Not since November 2010. It has 26 labeled non-menthol styles today against 14 menthol, though menthol remains most of what the brand sells.
Does Marlboro make a menthol? Yes, 21 styles, from Marlboro Menthol to NXT Menthol. Which menthol cigarettes contain the most menthol is a separate question, covered in Which Cigarettes Have the Most Menthol?
Which is older? Marlboro (1924, or 1955 as a filtered brand). Newport dates to 1957.
What do they cost? Both are premium brands, 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
- Altria, 2025 full-year results, January 29, 2026, and second-quarter 2026 results (SEC EDGAR); Altria, Our Heritage; Philip Morris internal company history (Stanford SRITA)
- Lorillard, Newport brand history (Stanford SRITA); Reynolds American, Reynolds American completes acquisition of Lorillard, June 12, 2015; Reynolds American Form 10-K for 2016 (SEC EDGAR); BAT, Annual Report 2024, Combustibles
- Tobacco Reporter, Nicotine market shares stay flat through December, January 11, 2024 (Nielsen data); CDC, Tobacco brand preference (Maxwell Report data); CSP Daily News via Tobacco-Facts, Big impact for Newport Non-Menthol, October 2010; Counter Tobacco, Newport Non-Menthol Gold, 2013
- Tobacco Prevention & Cessation, From cool to non-cool: California’s non-menthol cigarettes in 2025
- Public Health Law Center, Proposed Menthol Rules Withdrawn, February 7, 2025; Mass.gov, 2019 Tobacco Control Law; California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, SB 793 notice
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