These include Pyramid and unbranded generic cigarettes in plain black and white packaging.

While focusing on private label, or generic, cigarettes, Liggett has watched its market share become minuscule and profits have plunged into the red.

Ahead is an elegant evening, arranged by Howard: a test-smoking of 20 new generic cigarettes with names covered.

Now, about 61.5 percent of generic cigarettes are not generic at all.

Today, generic cigarettes account for more than four billion packs a year, or about 16 percent of the market.

In recent years, Liggett had some success fighting against erosion of its market share with generic cigarettes.

The growth of "generic" cigarettes has made smoking an ever-cheaper thrill.

This is just the latest innovation from the nation's smallest manufacturer, which turned the industry topsy-turvy in 1980 when it introduced cut-rate generic cigarettes.

Indeed, discounted and generic cigarettes are grabbing an increasing percentage of sales.

The judgment, believed to be the largest of its kind, involved a dispute over generic cigarettes.