Gauloises

Gauloises
Brand logo

Ingredients of a cigarette
Gauloises blond blue
Condensate / tar :	10 mg
Nicotine :	0.8 mg
Carbon monoxide :	10 mg
Tobacco additives :	Glycerine , sucrose , cellulose , propylene glycol , maple syrup , invert sugar , sorbitol , liquorice , fig extract , aroma , nitrogen
Gauloises blond red
Condensate / tar :	7 mg
Nicotine :	0.6 mg
Carbon monoxide :	9 mg
Tobacco additives :	Glycerine , sucrose , cellulose , propylene glycol , maple syrup , invert sugar , sorbitol , liquorice , fig extract , aroma , nitrogen
Gauloises blond yellow
Condensate / tar :	4 mg
Nicotine :	0.4 mg
Carbon monoxide :	5 mg
Tobacco additives :	Glycerine , sucrose , propylene glycol , cellulose , fig extract , flavor , liquorice , maple syrup , invert sugar , nitrogen
Gauloises Brunes without a filter
Condensate / tar :	10 mg
Nicotine :	0.8 mg
Carbon monoxide :	10 mg
Tobacco additives :	unknown
Gauloises Sélection blue
Condensate / tar :	10 mg
Nicotine :	0.9 mg
Carbon monoxide :	10 mg
Tobacco additives :	free from additives
Gauloises Sélection red
Condensate / tar :	7 mg
Nicotine :	0.7 mg
Carbon monoxide :	7 mg
Tobacco additives :	free from additives
As of 2008. The information applies to cigarettes available on the German market.

Gauloises (pronunciation: / go.lwaz /, French : Gauls or Gallic cigarettes ) is the brand name for cigarettes from Altadis SA

Sales in German-speaking countries

Gauloises have been marketed by Reemtsma in Germany since April 2010 , as its parent company Imperial Tobacco took over the Gauloises distributor Altadis from British American Tobacco in February 2008. In Austria and Switzerland, Gauloises are sold directly by Imperial Tobacco following the takeover of Altadis.

Market shares

Germany 5.6% (2012)
Austria 6.3% (2009)
Switzerland 5.1% (2003)

The development of the “Gauloises” product

By renaming the Hongroises brand (since 1876), the Gauloises brand was created in 1910 , at the same time as the sister brand Gitanes .

For a long time, Gauloises were known for their dark, strong tobacco. In addition, the strength (scratchiness) of the smoke was intensified again by the corn paper with which the cigarettes were rolled. So Gauloises were sometimes referred to as "unusable". The maize paper variant also had the property that the cigarette would go out if it was not drawn on regularly. Corn paper is no longer used to make them. It was offered in different guises.

From 1935 until the 1990s, Gauloises were produced as army cigarettes for the French army. The blue package with the distinctive winged helmet was designed by the graphic designer Marcel Jacno and introduced in 1936.

The most original version was the filterless cigarette in a blue package with the symbol of the allegedly Gallic winged helmet depicted on all Gauloises packages . A filter version (Disque Bleu, 1956) and a “lighter” version (légère) were added later; the French tobaccos were always retained.

While Gauloises used to be significantly cheaper than “international brands” in France, the change in recipe and brand image was accompanied by a price increase.

In addition to Gauloises blue (strong) and Gauloises red ('light'), Gauloises yellow ('ultra-light'), Gauloises green (menthol, strong) and three (Gauloises Blondes blue / red and Gauloises Melange Original) fine-cut variants for rolling cigarettes are also available. There are also Gauloises Brunes with or without a filter (formerly Gauloises Caporal), both made of black tobacco ( Zware ). In doing so, both the name of the brand and the advertising are continuously attempted to establish a “typically French” image for all Gauloises branded products .

Gauloises stepped and still appears as an advertising sponsor in motorsport. This means that the corporations ( Imperial Tobacco or American Tobacco) provide funds (mostly as tax write-offs) for popular media protagonists who, in return, agree to associate the product logo with their person. Among other things, Benetton Formula , Prost Grand Prix and the Yamaha works team around Valentino Rossi were sponsored. Currently, however, only the KTM works team is supported in the rally raid area.

Since the last French cigarette production facility closed in 2017, this brand has ceased to be manufactured in France.

Gauloises ducks

In a competition in 1981, five custom-made Citroën 2CVs were raffled off. Each car was kept in the Gauloises colors and yet was unique, because most of them had been extensively redesigned thematically; spectacular were e.g. B. the amphibious "swimming duck" or the "truck duck" with a semi-trailer . In the following years a few more 2CVs were raffled off.