Winston Nicotine Content: Red, Gold and White Compared

Winston nicotine content depends on the style. A Winston Red King holds 12.3 mg in its tobacco and yields 0.983 mg in machine-tested smoke, in Carmines and Gillman's 2019 lab study. Gold King holds 10.9 mg and White King 10.4 mg. For every major brand side by side, see our cigarette nicotine chart by brand.

Measured per gram instead, the Winston styles are close to identical. The CDC's 2017 study found 20.0 mg of nicotine per gram in Winston Red and Winston White, and 19.8 mg in Winston Gold.

BRST is a 2mg peppermint melt that dissolves under the tongue. This page covers US Winston styles only. Winston Blue and Silver, which show up in search results, weren't among the styles in either US lab study.

Nicotine content vs. nicotine yield

You will see two very different numbers for the same Winston, because they measure different things.

Nicotine content is the total nicotine in the unsmoked tobacco. A lab removes the tobacco from the paper and tests it, then reports milligrams per cigarette or per gram of tobacco.

Nicotine yield is how much nicotine a smoking machine collects from the smoke under a fixed puffing routine. That is why a Winston Red King can hold 12.3 mg and still yield 0.983 mg.

Neither number is what a person actually takes in. The FTC's report on 1998 cigarettes said people who smoke lower-rated cigarettes may smoke them more intensively, so lower ratings might not mean lower intake.

Winston nicotine content by style

These are the five Winston styles in the 2019 study. Four ranked among the 100 best sellers of 2017, and White King (No. 101) stood in for a discontinued style. The researchers bought them in Richmond, Virginia, in July 2018.

Source: Carmines and Gillman, 2019, Table 3; smoke tested under ISO machine conditions. "Nicotine in tobacco" is per cigarette.

The CDC's 2017 study measured four Winston hard packs per gram of tobacco. Red King, Red 100s and White 100s each had 20.0 mg/g, and Gold King had 19.8 mg/g. Across all 50 top-selling cigarettes in that study, the average was 19.2 mg/g.

Per-gram and per-cigarette numbers can't be compared directly. A longer 100s cigarette holds more tobacco, which is why Winston Red 100 has more nicotine per stick (13.0 mg) than Red King (12.3 mg).

Winston Red nicotine content

Winston Red is the regular Winston, and it's the style most people look up. The 100s is the stronger size: 13.0 mg in the tobacco and a 1.100 mg yield. The king size held 12.3 mg, yielded 0.983 mg and had 12.90 mg of tar.

That puts Winston Red King just above the average for the same test. Across all 100 top-selling styles, the average was 12.0 mg of nicotine per cigarette and a 0.903 mg yield (Carmines and Gillman, 2019).

Winston Lights and Ultra Lights nicotine (1990s)

Before 2010, Winston was sold as Winston, Winston Lights and Winston Ultra Lights. Two older data sets cover those names.

Nicotine in the tobacco (1990s)

Source: Kozlowski et al., 1998, Table 1; king soft packs bought in State College, Pennsylvania; yields are the FTC's numbers for 1995 cigarettes.

Nicotine in the smoke (FTC, 1998)

Source: the FTC's report on 1998 cigarettes, issued 2000; standard FTC method. King soft and hard packs tested the same for tar and nicotine; CO is shown soft / hard. 100s are soft packs. The report also lists Winston Select styles (0.7 to 1.2 mg), left out here.

Why the lighter Winstons yield less

Look at the first 1990s table again. Winston Lights had almost the same nicotine in its tobacco as regular Winston (10.3 mg vs. 10.5 mg), and Ultra Lights still held 9.7 mg. Yet the machine yields dropped from 1.0 mg to 0.7 and 0.5 mg.

The difference was in the filter. Lighter styles used ventilation: tiny holes that mix outside air into each puff and dilute the smoke the machine collects. The Kozlowski study was built around this point.

People don't smoke like machines. The National Cancer Institute's fact sheet notes that lips or fingers can block the vent holes. Smokers then end up inhaling more than the machine numbers suggest. It states that light cigarettes are no safer than regular cigarettes.

The same pattern shows up today. Per gram, Winston Gold and White hold as much nicotine as Winston Red, while their machine yields are lower. For more on how this works across brands, see nicotine in light cigarettes.

What happened to Winston Lights?

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act became law on June 22, 2009 (Public Law 111-31). Its Section 911 banned "light," "low" and "mild" on tobacco labels and ads starting June 22, 2010, unless the FDA allows them by order.

The FDA's page on these descriptors adds that smokers of light cigarettes do not lower their risk of smoking-related cancers and other diseases. NCI's fact sheet notes that some makers moved to color-coded packs, such as gold or silver.

Today's Winston line is sold as Red, Gold and White. We found no ITG Brands, FDA or NCI document that says which old Winston name became which color, so we don't state one. Marlboro's switch is better documented: read Marlboro Red vs. Gold.

Who makes Winston cigarettes?

ITG Brands makes Winston in the US. Imperial Tobacco bought Winston, Kool, Salem and Maverick from Reynolds American in a deal it completed on June 12, 2015. It named its US business ITG Brands (The Grocer, 2015).

ITG Brands' own brand page says Winston was introduced in 1954 and names R.J. Reynolds as its previous maker. That's why the CDC study lists Winston under R.J. Reynolds: the brands it tested were picked by 2010 market share.

Winston vs. Marlboro, Camel and American Spirit

In the 2019 study's top-100 table, Winston Red King edged out Camel Filters and held more nicotine than Marlboro Red (Carmines and Gillman, 2019).

Source: Carmines and Gillman, 2019, per cigarette.

Marlboro has its own breakdown in nicotine in a Marlboro cigarette. For the others, see Camel nicotine content or our American Spirit nicotine page.

FAQ

How much nicotine is in a Winston Red?

A Winston Red King held 12.3 mg of nicotine in its tobacco and yielded 0.983 mg on a smoking machine in a 2019 lab study. Winston Red 100s held 13.0 mg and yielded 1.100 mg. Per gram of tobacco, the CDC measured 20.0 mg.

How much nicotine is in a Winston Gold?

Winston Gold King held 10.9 mg per cigarette and yielded 0.760 mg in the 2019 study. Gold 100s held 12.3 mg and yielded 0.757 mg. The CDC measured 19.8 mg per gram of tobacco in Winston Gold King, nearly the same as Winston Red.

Is Winston Gold the same as Winston Lights?

We couldn't confirm it. The 2010 federal ban removed "light" from packs, and NCI notes that makers moved to color-coded packs. But we found no ITG Brands or FDA document that maps old Winston names to new colors. On machine yield, today's Gold sits where the old Lights did.

Which Winston has the lowest nicotine level?

On machine yield, Winston White King, at 0.383 mg with 4.50 mg of tar in the 2019 study. Its tobacco still held 10.4 mg per cigarette, and the CDC measured Winston White 100s at 20.0 mg per gram, the same as Winston Red.

How much nicotine do you get from one Winston?

It depends on how you smoke. Machine yields for Winston styles run from 0.383 to 1.100 mg, but NCI notes smokers can take in more than the machine numbers suggest. If you're lining a cigarette up against a product labeled in milligrams, see how 6 mg compares with cigarettes.

A note from BRST

BRST is a 2mg peppermint melt that dissolves under the tongue. It is not a cigarette and not FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy.

To see how a melt differs from gum, lozenges and pouches, read nicotine tablet vs. gum, lozenge and pouch. Adults 21+. Nicotine is addictive.

Which Winston do you smoke, Red, Gold or White, and did its number surprise you?