A matchbox of the Santé cigarette brand. The reality is that this matchbox has no special collectible value; however, the specific cigarette that is advertised was the longest-lived Greek cigarette, with a long history, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a mythical cigarette!
The story of the legendary Santé
Santé was launched in 1931 by the company Konstantinos Bros. with great success and ceased to be available after 85 years.
The name Santé was chosen to convince people that it was a healthy cigarette, since it comes from the word “sanitas” which in Latin means health. At that time, before the Second World War, there were advertisements where doctors said how good cigarettes are for health!
The first package had the image of a woman smoking, created by a painter, while on the left he wrote: “Patent of the Ministry of National Economy no 2373” and on the right “Certificate of Laboratory of Chemistry of the National University that it contains minor nicotine no 2373 “.
A woman-scandal in the package
The package with the smoking blonde diva was made by an Athenian painter. When the cigarettes were first released, everyone was trying to find out who the beautiful blonde in the pack was. The mysterious woman became almost an urban legend. Some said she was just a fantastic woman. Others that she was the painter’s favorite. But in reality she was someone else’s favorite…
This is Zozo Dalmas, a famous actress, opera singer and dancer of the beginning of the last century. Beautiful, unruly, bold and unpredictable, she was a woman who did not go unnoticed. The Greek diva had burned many hearts in her time… One of them was by Kemal Ataturk.
Santé also became a book
Santé’s package was a surprise and his fame increased so much that he even starred in films such as “An Italian from Kypseli”, but also in books.
In fact, this is the title of the book: “Santé – 15 authors and a mythical cigarette”.
The book’s prologue reads: “The cigarette that wrapped in its smoke seven decades of modern Greek life, the cigarette that aroused the sensibilities of the lovers of Art and Life, the cigarette that warmly accompanied the personal moments of millions of smokers evolved into a living legend that is getting younger every day. 15 authors are involved in the myth of Sante. And through the crimson package, they bring out flavors and aromas of times, desires and senses, dreams and adventures of memory, revealing the details of a relationship that is very personal as well as unexpectedly collective”.