The Marlboro Virginia Blend: Chain Smokers Rejoice!

The distinctive, gold-trimmed platinum box is the first deviation from the signature Marlboro design. Even the top of the box bears the blue leaf stamp to the right rather than across the middle, as displayed on soft packs. Aside from the black "MARLBORO," the rest of the lettering is burgundy.

The cigarette itself looks like...a cigarette. No fancy changes besides the platinum band at the base of the filter.

I purposely smoked two Virginia Blends before I even read the descriptive marketing phrases on the cigarette box. I wanted no power of suggestion clouding my mental capacity to judge the new addition to the plethora of Marlboro smokes. Unlike most consumer products, the absence of cigarette commercials eliminates their suggestive power over the cigarette smoker. So it was easy to experience the difference this single leaf blend purported.

To my delight, the flavor and inhalation were both smooth and mild. My lungs were not arrested by the typical asperity that normally impedes the smoking experience. As a habitual menthol lover, I am used to an extra amount of crystallizing lung pressure. Even with the brown sugar laced Marlboro 27s, I get that extra hacking the morning after; therefore, I was ready for some harsh ingredient to mar any chance at a deep drag.

Not so.

Upon lighting the third grit, I fancied a glance at the burgundy message on the back of the box: "VIRGINIA LEAF. 400 years ago perfected in Virginia--now grown around the world. Today, hand-selected Virginia tobaccos make our only single leaf blend unique. Enjoy the crisp, mellow taste and easy finish."

There it is, in the last sentence. The power of suggestion exposed: "...crisp, mellow...easy."