The brand is named after Herbert Kent

Kent is a brand of cigarettes. Viceroy (cigarette)s were the first to introduce cigarette filters in 1936. Kent's Micronite filter was introduced shortly after the publication of a series of articles in Reader's Digest in 1952 entitled "Cancer by the Carton," that scared American consumers into seeking out a filter brand at a time when most brands were filterless.

From March 1952 until at least May 1956, however, the Micronite filter in Kent cigarettes contained deadly blue asbestos. [1] Kent now uses charcoal filters (a form of activated carbon).

The brand is a propriety of British American Tobacco Nassi group.

The brand is named after Herbert Kent, a former executive at Lorillard Tobacco Company.