What Do Cigarette Boxes Have to Print Right Now?
A US cigarette pack still carries one of the four Surgeon General warnings that rotate under a plan the FTC approves. The graphic rule that would replace them stays postponed while the district court in Texas decides the case on its merits.
| Requirement | In force now | Postponed FDA rule |
|---|---|---|
| Number of warnings | Four Surgeon General statements | Eleven statements with color images |
| Rotation | Quarterly under an FTC approved plan | Set by the rule |
| Space on the pack | A conspicuous place on the pack | Top 50 percent of the front and rear panels |
| Status | Required | Postponed by court order pending a final ruling |
A pack designed today should keep the top half of the face free of anything the brand cannot move. The case is R.J. Reynolds v. FDA and it is still live, so confirm the warning set with counsel before each run. The warning sets the layout and the stick sets the size of the pack.
What Size Box Does a Pack of 20 Cigarettes Need?
Federal rule 21 CFR 1140.16 bars any cigarette package that holds fewer than 20 cigarettes, so 20 is the smallest count we quote for retail sale. Twenty sticks sit in three rows of seven and six and seven inside a foil inner wrap.
Internal length is the stick length plus 2 mm and internal width is seven stick diameters. Internal depth comes to about 22 mm for a standard 7.8 mm stick. The table runs those figures for the three common lengths.
| Format | Stick length | Internal length | Internal width | Internal depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | 70 mm | 72 mm | 55 mm | 22 mm |
| King size | 84 mm | 86 mm | 55 mm | 22 mm |
| 100s | 100 mm | 102 mm | 55 mm | 22 mm |
A carton holds ten packs in two rows of five, and we confirm every figure on a plain sample with your own sticks. Size settled, the structure decides how the pack opens and closes.
Which Structure Makes a Cigarette Box Close Like a Retail Pack?
The retail standard is a hinge lid pack with an inner frame. The frame is a separate collar glued inside the shell, and its friction holds the lid shut without a tab or a magnet.
We cut cardboard cigarette boxes for wholesale runs from white SBS board at 300 to 350 GSM, which measures about 0.40 to 0.46 mm. Kraft board at the same weight gives an uncoated look for natural and herbal lines. Corrugated board belongs on the shipping case and never on the pack, because flute makes a pocket pack too thick to close.
A slide and shell pack suits premium runs, and our dieline generator builds either style flat at your size. Whichever style you pick, the warning panel still goes on the dieline first.
Who Is Responsible for the Warning on a Cigarette Box?
The brand that sells the cigarettes is responsible for the warning and every other required label. We print the artwork you approve, and we place each required panel on the dieline before any design goes on.
A warning drawn after the logo ends up squeezed on a pack this small. Our artwork guidelines show the panel layout we send back for sign off.
How Do You Order Custom Cigarette Boxes Wholesale?
Send the stick length and diameter and the pack style through our quote form, and a dieline and a price come back within the week. Pricing runs from $0.50 to $3.50 per box depending on size, board and quantity.
- Minimum order is 100 units per size and design and it comes down on rigid, corrugated and larger sizes
- Price breaks arrive at 500 and 1,000 units on one artwork and not across mixed designs
- Production takes 8 to 10 business days for folding carton and 10 to 12 for rigid and wrapped
- A plain sample takes 3 to 5 business days and a printed one takes 7 to 10
- No setup or tooling fees apply because the die and the plates sit inside your unit price
- Shipping is free across the United States on every order we take
Close a filled sample pack a dozen times before the printed run. Vape and pod brands use our custom e-cigarette boxes, and every other style sits under custom retail packaging.
The Customized Boxes