Cigarettes are made from cured tobacco leaves that are usually finely cut and mixed with other tobacco leaves and certain additives that give the cigarette its unique aftertaste. The exact number of people that smoke is not known, but according to some estimates it's about a third of the planet's population. There are millions of packs of cigarettes sold every day in the world and because of tough competition international tobacco companies are bound to come up with new ideas to make their brand more recognizable and get the attention of certain groups of population. The most famous brands that are easily recognizable in any country in the world include Parliament, Winston, Pall Mall, Camel, Marlboro, Kent, LM, Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Davidoff. The reason these brands are so popular are numerous: some of them are the pioneers of the industry that were the first ones to introduce important innovations (such as filters, new standards of length and strengths etc.), other companies were particularly successful in coming up with memorable slogans and advertising campaigns, while others are famous because of their distinctive taste, flavor and traditions of curing tobacco for their cigarettes. The average number of cigarettes smoked a day is 5, although some people tend to smoke several packs. Smoking cigarettes is a tradition that dates back to the times of cavemen - back then people used the first prototypes of cigarettes (pipes) to prove their friendly intentions, or conclude an agreement. The tradition was modified over the years, and these days people smoke for different reasons - smoking a cigarette may be the sign of social status, maturity or just a way to relax and calm down.