Pianissimo is a Japanese brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Japan Tobacco.

Pianissimo Peche
A photo of a vending machine containing the peach flavoured cigarettes.
Product typeCigarette
OwnerJapan Tobacco
Produced byJapan Tobacco
CountryJapan
IntroducedJune 2004; 20 years ago (June 2004)
MarketsJapan[1][2][3]
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Description

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Originally it was sold as a light variant of the Salem brand in 1995 which was made by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.[4][5] Japan Tobacco acquired the overseas division of RJR and made the Pianissimo brand independent in June 2004.[2] It was first launched and tested in July 2005 in the Miyagi (宮城) and Yamagata (山形) prefectures, and then introduced nationwide in October 2005.[6] Since May 1, 2005, Japan Tobacco handles stocks. Since then, other variants like Petil and Franc were added and other Japan Tobacco Menthol brands were made into Pianissimo. It is a cigarette specifically aimed at women, similar to Virginia S made by Altria,

The word Pianissimo refers to the musical dynamics and volumes of sounds or notes. The word pêche is a French term meaning peach, referring to the peach taste of the cigarettes. Produced and sold almost exclusively in Japan, the cigarettes are sold as 20 cigarettes per pack, 10 packs per carton, and 200 cigarettes per carton.[7][8]

In December 2011, JTI announced they had changed 7 Pianissimo variants. The same thing happened to 9 variants in mid-2016.[9][10][4]

Products

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Below are all the variants of Pianissimo cigarettes, with the levels of tar and nicotine included.

Name Release date Date of discontinuance Price in ¥ Tar Nicotine Description
Pianissimo Lucia Menthol February 1, 2003 Still available 450 Yen 5 mg 0,3 mg D-spec product ( citrus flavor)
Pianissimo Eye Scene Gracia August 1, 2003 Still available 450 Yen 5 mg 0,4 mg D-spec product, changed from "Pianissimo Eye Scene Menthol" in mid January 2012 (Strong Menthol)
Pianissimo Aria Menthol June 1, 2004 Still available 450 Yen 1 mg 0,1 mg Since March 2006 D-spec, changed to "Pianissimo One" in mid January 2012 (Mensol without habit)
Pianissimo Light June 1, 2004 August 2006 320 Yen 6 mg 0,5 mg Since March 2006 D-spec
Pianissimo Ultra Light June 1, 2004 May 2011 440 Yen 3 mg 0,2 mg Since March 2006 D-spec
Pianissimo Petil Menthol One July 1, 2005 Still available 450 Yen 1 mg 0,1 mg D-spec product, until the beginning of May 2009, changed to "Pianissimo Peche Menthol One" ( Peach flavor )[11]
Pianissimo Franc Menthol One October 1, 2008 Still available 230 Yen 1 mg' 0,1 mg D-spec product (raspberry flavor)
Pianissimo Eye Scene Crista December 1, 2009 Still available 450 Yen 1 mg' 0,1 mg D-spec product (raspberry flavor)
Pianissimo Peche Menthol November 1, 2010 Still available 450 Yen 1 mg' 0,1 mg D-spec product, changed to 'Pianissimo Eye Scene Menthol One' in mid January 2012 (Strong Menthol)
Pianissimo Vive Menthol November 1, 2011 May 2014 450 Yen 6 mg' 0,5 mg D-spec product (refreshing menthol of mint type → strong menthol with moderate sweetness)
Pianissimo Peche Dia Menthol 30 July 2012 Still available 450 Yen 5 mg 0.3 mg D-spec product (strong menthol feel and firm respiration) The tar / nicotine value has been changed.
Pianissimo Eye Scene Spike January 14, 2014 Still available 450 Yen 6 mg 0,5 mg D-spec product, King size. Virtually succeeding Pianississimo Viv Menthol, the product with the first eye scene after the integration of eye scene

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BrandPianissimo - Cigarettes Pedia". Cigarettespedia.com.
  2. ^ a b "Pianissimo". Zigsam.at.
  3. ^ "Brands". Cigarety.by.
  4. ^ a b "brand of cigarettes - Tobacco World". Tobaccoprof.wordpress.com.
  5. ^ "Japan Ads Sell Women On Smoking". Christian Science Monitor. 9 March 1998.
  6. ^ "Pianissimo Pêche Menthol One". Chen1923.blogspot.nl. 17 August 2008.
  7. ^ "PIANISSIMO - Okcig.com". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  8. ^ "Cigarette packaging in Japan | PingMag : Art, Design, Life – from Japan". Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  9. ^ "9 upgraded Pianissimo products to be rolled out nationwide - JT Global Site". www.jt.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Pianissimo Products Upgraded". Tobaccoasia.com. 8 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Pianissimo Pêche Menthol One". Chen1923.blogspot.nl. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2018.