April 13th, 2014
#1 (permalink) 06 24 2009, 01 48 PM wipeout97 Moderator Join Date Apr 2009 Location US Posts 192 Rep Power 24 Marlboro Freshness Stamp PM Date Code Decode for Manufacturers Date
Since Marlboro has changed the lot stamp on cigarettes here is a quick how to for finding a stale pack before you leave the store.
An example Phillip Morris bar code is
V159Z94A5
V (or first letter) the state of manufacture with this one being Virginia
159 (or the next 3 numbers) the day of the year the cigarettes were made. Consider just deviding this number by 30 for the nearest month this date could fall in.
Z this is the month of production (the letters they have are still unknown so just use the number method).
9 equals the year of production
I hate stale cigarettes and stores which sell them so I hope this helps someone. Remember to check while in the store as most retailers will not swap cigarettes or give refunds once you leave the store.
Last edited by Chief Smoker 06 28 2009 at 09 43 PM. #2 (permalink) 06 25 2009, 11 05 AM wipeout97 Moderator Join Date Apr 2009 Location US Posts 192 Rep Power 24
One more thing to add to this post.
Phillip Morris claims a 14 month shelf life of cigarettes which I would have agreed with a few years ago. I think though PM products now carry around a 6 month shelf life only. I believe the FSC paper, or chemicals held within, are causing a dryer tobacco. If you cigarettes are more than 6 months old from the date stamp you can expect a harsher taste and should consider just returning them while in the store. Don’t feel sorry for the store keeper. If they are not lazy they can receive full replacements from PM just by asking. Instead though they don’t care about freshness and often sell 2 year old cigarettes to unknowing consumers. With the cost you ‘t that just unfair? #3 (permalink) 06 28 2009, 09 45 PM Chief Smoker Super Moderator Join Date Oct 2008 Posts 446 Rep Power 50 Marlboro How to check when you pack was made
Wipeout,
This is really cool information. I never knew this!!
My pack is V092Y98A2 yes, I’m from VA….
Do all brands do this or is it just Phillip Morris? #4 (permalink) 07 02 2009, 12 48 PM storrs19 Member Join Date Jul 2009 Location US Posts 35 Rep Power 0
Being a previous Marlboro (King Size Soft Pack) smoker but now smoking Winston as they are less expensive this is interesting. I always wondered about PM’s date code.
RJR is easy. F9 means the month and year. A January, B February and so on through L December and 9 means 2009. So F9 means June 2009. #5 (permalink) 07 04 2009, 12 46 PM wipeout97 Moderator Join Date Apr 2009 Location US Posts 192 Rep Power 24
PM, RJR, and Lorillard all have there own customer date codes and the post above was correct about RJR’s as it is the easiest. I don’t know lorillards as I like newports but they are a little too strong for my blood to smoke all the time.
The other makers which are considered Value or Discount brands do not manufacture the same brands daily and instead focus on one brand a month (with the exception of Star Scientific). They will always have codes on the bottom but instead of being birth codes they are lot codes and this is the way they want it to be intentionally to throw off consumers from knowing the product they are buying is stale. Let’s face it, we have all tried a value or discount brand and we can all pretty much say we have had a stale pack at least once. I guess it is cheaper for them to lose a customer than to refine stale tobacco into recon. I have toured discount and value factories before and I must say most of them produce a premium cigarette taste. It is the fact they sit and sit with low sales that pushes stale products out the door. Most value brands will tell you they have the same swap out/rotation policy as the bigger makers but since they market to mom and pop gas stations I think it boils down to being lazy on the part of gas stations for not doing their job correctly.
Glad this could help . #6 (permalink) 01 21 2010, 09 58 PM alagator Junior Member Join Date Jan 2010 Location United States Posts 2 Rep Power 0 code confusion
the pack I have now says v301x91b7 , I find that these codes that end in b3 or b1 taste stale and the ones with b5 or b7 seem better . Always wondered about those codes and what a smoke would taste like if it way made today instead of sitting on a shelf for so many months. #7 (permalink) 01 25 2013, 04 16 PM jdwsmokes Moderator Join Date Jan 2013 Location United States Posts 104 Rep Power 12
Just got a pack from the middle of September I think. Tastes great. #8 (permalink) 12 04 2013, 11 31 PM dinah1220 Entry Member Join Date Dec 2013 Posts 1 Rep Power 0
I have been getting nothing but stale to very stale cigarettes for months don’t know if it is the time of year or what. according to the reply above they are only 2 3 months old. they end in A5 and the set of numbers after the v are 281 divided by three that is 9.36 and this is the 4th of dec, 2013 so I dont know if I should ask for ciggs with a number of no older than 300. would like any ideas thanks
Marlboro maker altria group to sell its first electronic cigarette under markten brand in ind.
Electronic cigarettes – e cigarettes – e cigs
RICHMOND, Va. Tobacco company Altria Group Inc. is launching its first electronic cigarette under the MarkTen brand in Indiana starting in August and expanding its smokeless product offerings.
The owner of the nation’s biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, announced the details of its NuMark subsidiary’s foray into the fast growing business Tuesday.
It’s the last of the nation’s major tobacco companies to market an electronic cigarette in an industrywide push to diversify beyond the traditional cigarette business, which has become tougher in the face of tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma.
The Richmond, Va. based company declined to say whether it plans to expand beyond the initial statewide test market or whether it plans to advertise on TV a place tobacco companies have long been prohibited from marketing traditional cigarettes.
During an investor presentation on Tuesday, CEO Marty Barrington said the company has “spent a good deal of time studying the category and the business opportunity.”
“The category is in its early stages and time will tell how it will evolve,” Barrington said.
Electronic cigarettes are battery powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. Devotees say e cigarettes address both the addictive and behavioral aspects of smoking. Smokers get their nicotine without the more than 4,000 chemicals found in regular cigarettes. And they get to hold something shaped like a cigarette, while puffing and exhaling something that looks like smoke.
More than 45 million Americans smoke cigarettes, and about half of smokers try to quit each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MarkTen is a disposable e cigarette but can be reused by buying a separate battery recharging kit and additional cartridges in both tobacco and menthol flavors. The company said the e cigarette’s “Four Draw” technology is designed to give users a “more consistent experience” that closely resembles the draw of a traditional cigarette.
The e cigarette, made in China by a contract manufacturer, is expected to sell for about $9.50. Prices for additional cartridges and recharging kit were not available. The liquid for the cartridges is being produced in the U.S.
Last week, Reynolds American Inc., owner of the nation’s second biggest tobacco company, announced that it is launching a revamped version of its Vuse brand electronic cigarette in Colorado in July, with its sights set on expanding nationally. Lorillard Inc., the nation’s third biggest tobacco company, acquired e cigarette maker Blu Ecigs in April 2012 and has expanded to more than 80,000 retail outlets.
The market for e cigarettes, which includes more than 250 brands, has grown from the thousands of users in 2006 to several million worldwide. Analysts estimate sales could double this year to $1 billion. Some go as far as saying consumption of e cigs could surpass consumption of traditional cigarettes in the next decade.
Tobacco company executives even noted that e cigarettes drove total industry cigarette volumes down about 600 million cigarettes, or about 1 percent, during the first quarter, excluding Internet sales a major avenue for e cig purchases.
The Food and Drug Administration plans to assert regulatory authority over e cigarettes in the near future. Public health officials say the safety of e cigarettes and their effectiveness in helping people quit regular smokes haven’t been fully studied.
Despite the regulatory uncertainties, electronic cigarettes have attracted the attention of investors.
Electronic cigarette maker Njoy Inc. said Monday it has raised $75 million in financing from investors including Napster founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker and Homewood Capital principal Douglas Teitelbaum to be used for marketing, clinical trials, research and development, and international expansion. Musician Bruno Mars also has invested the company whose Njoy King disposable e cigarettes are available in more than 60,000 retail stores.
Like other tobacco companies, Altria also is focusing on cigarette alternatives for future sales growth because the decline in cigarette smoking is expected to continue.
The company said Tuesday it is expanding its Verve chewable, disposable nicotine discs from 60 stores to about 1,200 throughout Virginia in the second half of the year. It also plans to debut a gum containing tobacco in Denmark this summer called Tju (pronounced like “chew”) through a previously announced joint venture with an affiliate of Fertin Pharma A/S to develop smokeless nicotine products.
Altria, whose brands include top selling Marlboro cigarettes, Skoal smokeless tobacco and Black & Mild cigars, also on Tuesday reaffirmed its 2013 full year adjusted earnings forecast of between $2.35 and $2.41 per share. The company also owns a wine business, holds a voting stake in brewer SABMiller, and has a financial services division.
