Cigarettes have been used as money for a long time. At the end of World War 1 and World War 2, cigarettes were used as currency in Germany and throughout central Europe. Stores and restaurants priced things in cigarettes. People paid their rent in cigarettes.

Cigarettes have also been a common method of bribing government officials in countries where bribery is the normal way of doing business. In the later days of the Soviet Union, every foreign businessman in Moscow understood that if he wanted a permit or a license, he needed to bring cartons of American cigarettes with him when he met with government officials. In Russia, they wanted Marlboros. In Romania, it was Kent. For some reason, Kent was the only brand that many Romanian communist apparatchiks would accept.

In China today, if you want to get a permit for a big deal, when you meet with a government official, bring Good Cat cigarettes with you. Giving cash to a government official in China in exchange for a permit is bribery, a crime punishable by imprisonment and sometimes death; however, it is legal for a Chinese government official to accept a business gift, providing its value is considered ‘reasonable’. Good Cat cigarettes have become the standard ‘business gift’ for powerful government officials. These cigarettes are incredibly expensive. Good Cat cigarettes cost $700 to $900 a carton, depending on what part of the country you are in. Why do they cost so much? To some degree, the price is inflated to give them snob appeal, but even without that, Good Cat cigarettes would still be very expensive. Every cigarette is handmade, and every shred of tobacco that goes into a Good Cat cigarette is individually inspected. Every tobacco plant and every tobacco leaf is inspected daily while it is growing. Good Cat cigarettes are not sold in the United States, but even if they were, at $900 a carton, who would buy them?