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Parliament and Camel are premium brands from the two largest US tobacco companies, at opposite ends of the size scale. Camel, from R.J. Reynolds (BAT), is the third-largest cigarette brand in the country, with 46 styles in the Oregon directory spread across sub-lines like Classic, Turkish, Crush and Craft. Parliament, from Philip Morris USA (Altria), is a small brand with 8 styles, and is not reported in Altria’s results by name. The physical difference between them is the filter: Parliament has used a recessed filter since the early 1930s, while Camel uses standard filters, plus one unfiltered style and a capsule family. 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, Philip Morris’ brand histories, 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 | Parliament | Camel |
|---|---|---|
| US manufacturer | Philip Morris USA, Richmond, Virginia | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Tobaccoville, North Carolina |
| Parent | Altria Group | British American Tobacco, through Reynolds American (since July 2017) |
| Launched | 1931, by the Benson & Hedges Company; “the first cigarette with a filter mouthpiece” in 1932 | 1913, by R.J. Reynolds; “the first branded cigarette in America to be sold, advertised and promoted nationally” |
| Ownership path | Benson & Hedges until 1954, when it became a Philip Morris subsidiary; Philip Morris since | Reynolds throughout |
| Price tier | Premium; Altria’s “other premium” group with Virginia Slims | Premium; Reynolds’ “growth brand” alongside value-tier Pall Mall |
| US market share | Not reported by brand; the “other premium” group was 2.1% of the category in the first half of 2026 | 7.8% (Nielsen, December 2023); 7.9% (Tobacco Insider, January 2025) |
| Rank | Not in the published top ten | No. 3, behind Marlboro and Newport |
| Styles in the Oregon directory | 8 | 46 |
| Lengths | King (79 mm), 100s | King, 99s, Wides |
| Packs | Box only | Box; three soft packs |
| Menthol styles | 4 of 8 | 13 named menthol styles, plus 2 Crush capsule styles |
| Filter | Recessed filter on every style; 100’s launched in 1969 with a charcoal filter | Standard filters; one unfiltered style (Regular Non-Filter Soft); Crush capsule filters |
| Pack | 20 cigarettes | 20 cigarettes |
The lineups
Parliament (8 styles)
| Style as listed (Oregon) | Length | Menthol |
|---|---|---|
| Parliament White Pack Box | King (79 mm) | No |
| Parliament White Pack 100’s Box | 100s | No |
| Parliament Blue Pack Box | King | No |
| Parliament Silver Pack Box | King | No |
| Parliament Menthol White Pack Box | King | Yes |
| Parliament Menthol White Pack 100’s Box | 100s | Yes |
| Parliament Menthol Green Pack Box | King | Yes |
| Parliament Menthol Silver Pack Box | King | Yes |
New Jersey lists the same 8, all in the Oregon directory since December 2003. The pack-color names replaced Parliament Lights (introduced 1979) after the June 2010 descriptor ban.
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 | 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 |
Style names are as printed; “Smooth” and similar words are the manufacturers’ names, not this page’s description. Full pack listings: Parliament and Camel.
The filters
Parliament’s defining feature, in Philip Morris’ own brand history, is its “recessed” filter: the paper tipping extends beyond the filter material so the filter sits back from the lips. Benson & Hedges introduced Parliament in 1931 in “plain and cork tip” versions and, per the Philip Morris company history, made it “the first cigarette with a filter mouthpiece” in 1932, more than twenty years before filters became standard in 1954. Parliament 100’s, launched November 10, 1969, added a charcoal filter. Camel took the opposite path: it was unfiltered from 1913 until filtered styles arrived in 1966, and the original unfiltered Camel is still in the Oregon directory as Regular Non-Filter, in a soft pack. Camel Crush, first listed in 2008, put a crushable menthol capsule inside a standard filter. None of these designs carries a health claim: the National Cancer Institute’s Monograph 13 (2001) found that filter differences that change machine-measured yields do not translate into lower exposure for the person smoking. Filters and unfiltered brands are covered in more depth at Unfiltered Cigarettes.
History
Parliament. Benson & Hedges, then an independent New York tobacconist, introduced Parliament in 1931 as a specialty brand for major metropolitan markets. A king size arrived in early 1954, the same year Benson & Hedges became a Philip Morris subsidiary, which gave the brand “a full field sales force” for the first time. Parliament 100’s followed in 1969 and Parliament Lights in 1979. It has been a Philip Morris brand for over seventy years, made with every other PM USA cigarette at the Richmond Manufacturing Center, and is reported today inside Altria’s “other premium” group.
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. “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” dates to 1920 or 1921. 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) families are the newest additions. Production is at the Tobaccoville plant near Winston-Salem, built in 1985.
Regulation
The 4 menthol Parliament styles and Camel’s menthol and capsule styles are subject to the sales bans in Massachusetts (June 1, 2020) and California (December 21, 2022); the federal menthol proposal was withdrawn January 21, 2025. California’s law (AB 3218 and SB 1230, effective January 1, 2025) counts a “cooling sensation” as a characterizing flavor; the Camel Crush Oasis styles are no longer marketed. Texas, where Saucey delivers tobacco, has no menthol restriction.
FAQs
Are Parliament and Camel made by the same company? No. Parliament is Philip Morris USA (Altria); Camel is R.J. Reynolds (BAT).
What is the recessed filter? A filter set back inside the paper tip, so there is a hollow at the mouth end. Parliament has had it since the early 1930s. It is a construction choice, not a health feature.
Which is older? Camel, 1913, against Parliament’s 1931. As a filtered cigarette Parliament is older: 1932 against Camel’s 1966.
Which sells more? Camel, at roughly 8% of the US market. Altria does not publish Parliament’s share; the whole “other premium” group it sits in is about 2%.
Does either come unfiltered? Camel does (Regular Non-Filter, soft pack). Parliament does not; every Parliament has the recessed filter.
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
- Philip Morris, Parliament brand history and company history (internal documents, Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising); Altria second-quarter 2026 results, July 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR); Philip Morris USA, Our Offices and Facilities
- R.J. Reynolds, Camel creative history (Stanford SRITA); NCpedia, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Reynolds American Form 10-K filings for 2004, 2010 and 2014 (SEC EDGAR); BAT, BAT Completes Acquisition of Reynolds, July 25, 2017
- Tobacco Reporter, Nicotine market shares stay flat through December, January 11, 2024 (Nielsen data); Tobacco Insider, USA: Cigarette Brands, January 24, 2025; National Cancer Institute, “Light” Cigarettes and Cancer Risk
- California Healthline, reporting on California’s non-menthol cigarettes; Public Health Law Center, Proposed Menthol Rules Withdrawn, February 7, 2025; Mass.gov, 2019 Tobacco Control Law
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