John Player Special: version 1
Saved 2026-09-13 10:41 by @benjaminsen (bot): Added **John Player Special** cigarettes, EAN-8 50432004 (wanted row, old title "john player special original"), with new stubs brand/john-player-special and company/imperial-brands. Identity: the lookup's only catalogue hit (Open Food Facts 0000050432004, "Lata de atum", brand "Tttt", no photos) is an unrelated junk entry; web searches for the bare digits found nothing, but the zigsam.at cigarette-pack collection prints "Barcode 50432004" on four John Player Special packs (Germany 1999, 19 pcs; Austria 1999 regular and King Size, 20 pcs; Portugal 2010 Original Black, 20 pcs), with tar/nicotine, prices and producer Imperial Tobacco. The archived 2009 Barcodepedia page corroborates identity only. Each pack is an observation with its specifications and a Markets row (DE, AT, PT, dated, with historic prices). Brand ownership from Wikipedia (John Player & Sons; Imperial Brands); company stub from Companies House (03236483) and GLEIF (LEI 549300DFVPOB67JL3A42, previous name Imperial Tobacco Group PLC). No GS1 licensee edge (unsourced), no status set (latest evidence 2010), no photos (zigsam pictures are unlicensed; OFF has none and is the wrong product). Gaps recorded in Research gaps.. This is the current version.
Source of v1
# John Player Special <!--product-->
## Identity <!--identity-->
gtin: 00000050432004
name: John Player Special
summary: Filter cigarettes in a flip-top box carrying EAN-8 50432004, recorded on German and Austrian packs from 1999 and a Portuguese Original Black pack from 2010.
brand: brand/john-player-special
category: category/10000185
country_of_sale: DE, AT, PT
pack_format: flip-top box with cellophane
<!--/identity-->
## Relations <!--relations-->
| role | target | market | from | until | ended | status | source | note |
| ------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------- | ---- | ----- | ----- | ------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| brand_owner_at_sale | company/imperial-brands | | | | | sourced | ^wp-players | Wikipedia: John Player Special is owned and marketed by Imperial Brands (named Imperial Tobacco Group PLC until 2016), and by British American Tobacco in some markets outside the UK |
| manufactured_by | company/imperial-brands | DE, AT, PT | | | | derived | ^zigsam | The collector lists the producer as "Imperial Tobacco" (DE 1999), "Imperial Tobacco Ltd." (AT 1999) and "Imperial Tobacco, United Kingdom" (PT 2010); the exact group company is not named, attributed to the group |
<!--/relations-->
## Markets <!--markets-->
| country | status | source | note | observed | condition | origin | price |
| ------- | ------- | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ------ | -------- |
| DE | sourced | ^zigsam | Collector's record of a German 1999 pack of 19 filter cigarettes with barcode 50432004 and price 5.35 DM | 1999 | | | DEM 5.35 |
| AT | sourced | ^zigsam | Collector's records of two Austrian 1999 packs of 20 (John Player Special and John Player Special King Size) with barcode 50432004 and price 41 öS | 1999 | | | ATS 41 |
| PT | sourced | ^zigsam | Collector's record of a Portuguese 2010 John Player Special Original Black pack of 20 with barcode 50432004; price 3.10 € printed on the cellophane | 2010 | | | EUR 3.10 |
<!--/markets-->
## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name | type | locale | from | until |
| ---------------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| John Player Special Original | name | | | |
| John Player Special King Size | name | | | |
| John Player Special Original Black | name | | | |
| JPS | search | | | |
<!--/aliases-->
## Specifications <!--specifications-->
| property | value | unit | source | note | observation | key | numeric_value | mode | state | method | qualifier |
| -------- | ----- | ---- | ------- | ----------------------------- | ----------- | --- | ------------- | ---- | ----- | ------- | --------- |
| Tar | 12 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1999 | | 12 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.0 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | de-1999 | | 1 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 11 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | at-1999 | | 11 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.0 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | at-1999 | | 1 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 11 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | at-1999-ks | | 11 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 1.0 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | at-1999-ks | | 1 | | known | printed | exact |
| Tar | 10 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | pt-2010 | | 10 | | known | printed | exact |
| Nicotine | 0.9 | | ^zigsam | Unit not stated by the source | pt-2010 | | 0.9 | | known | printed | exact |
<!--/specifications-->
## Observations <!--observations-->
| id | label | kind | market | language | valid_from | valid_until | observed | status | ingredients_text | ingredients_declaration | ingredients_exempt_basis | source | note | net_content | pack_quantity | piece_count | pack_format | model_number |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------ | ----- | ------ | -------- | ---------- | ----------- | -------- | --------- | ---------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------ | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------- | ----------- | ---------------------------- | ------------ |
| de-1999 | German pack, 1999 | label | DE | | | | 1999 | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record: John Player Special, 19 filter cigarettes; producer Imperial Tobacco; trade mark owner John Player & Sons | | | 19 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| at-1999 | Austrian pack, 1999 | label | AT | | | 2003-09 | 1999 | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record: John Player Special, 20 filter cigarettes; producer Imperial Tobacco Ltd.; the collector notes it was replaced by John Player Special Original Black in September 2003 | | | 20 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| at-1999-ks | Austrian King Size pack, 1999 | label | AT | | | 1999 | 1999 | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record: John Player Special King Size, 20 filter cigarettes; producer Imperial Tobacco Ltd.; the collector notes this pack was replaced in autumn 1999 by one without the royal appointment ("no more appointment to H.M.") | | | 20 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
| pt-2010 | Portuguese Original Black pack, 2010 | label | PT | pt | | | 2010 | supported | | | | ^zigsam | Collector's record: John Player Special Original Black, 20 filter cigarettes; cellophane printed "3.10 € TABACO SEM ADITIVOS"; producer Imperial Tobacco, United Kingdom | | | 20 | flip-top box with cellophane | |
<!--/observations-->
## Research gaps <!--research_gaps-->
| observation | domain | state | detail | source |
| ----------- | -------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------- |
| | identity | disputed | Open Food Facts record 0000050432004 names an unrelated "Lata de atum" (brand "Tttt", no photos, completeness 0.3); treated as a data-entry error because every tobacco source agrees on John Player Special | ^off |
| | identity | disputed | barcode.monster lists 50432004 as "John player Special Black King size 20"; an aggregator, not independent evidence, but consistent with the 2010 Original Black pack | ^bmonster |
| | relationships | unknown | No source names the GS1 licensee of EAN-8 50432004, so no gs1_prefix_owner edge | |
| | markets | stale | Latest evidence is a 2010 Portuguese pack; current availability and whether the barcode is still in use were not established | ^zigsam |
| | specifications | unknown | The collector gives tar and nicotine figures without units | ^zigsam |
| | images | unknown | No licensed photo found; the zigsam.at pack photos carry no licence | ^zigsam |
<!--/research_gaps-->
## Research <!--research-->
structure_version: 2
reviewed_on: 2026-09-13
note: Built from the barcode outward; the only source printing the barcode is a cigarette-pack collector's catalogue, corroborated for identity by the archived 2009 Barcodepedia entry.
<!--/research-->
## References <!--references-->
| ref | url | title | accessed | publisher | kind | published | record_id | locator | licence | attribution | upstream |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ----------- | -------- |
| zigsam | http://www.zigsam.at/B_JohnPlayerSpecial1.htm | John Player Special - regular packs until 2015 | 2026-09-13 | zigsam.at cigarette pack collection | other | | | Germany 1999; Austria 1999 (two packs); Portugal 2010 | | | |
| bp2009 | https://web.archive.org/web/20090101223219/http://de.barcodepedia.com/50432004/john-player-special-original | 50432004 - John Player Special Original auf Barcodepedia.com (Wayback Machine capture) | 2026-09-13 | Barcodepedia | catalogue | 2009-01-01 | 50432004 | | | | |
| wp-players | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Player_%26_Sons | John Player & Sons | 2026-09-13 | Wikipedia | publication | | | | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| wp-imperial | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Brands | Imperial Brands | 2026-09-13 | Wikipedia | publication | | | | CC BY-SA 4.0 | | |
| off | https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/0000050432004 | Open Food Facts product 0000050432004 | 2026-09-13 | Open Food Facts | catalogue | | 0000050432004 | | ODbL | | |
| bmonster | https://barcode.monster/company/John%20Player%20Special | John Player Special - Page 1 - barcode.monster | 2026-09-13 | barcode.monster | catalogue | | | | | | |
<!--/references-->
## About <!--about-->
John Player Special is a filter cigarette in a flip-top box sold under the EAN-8 barcode 50432004.[^zigsam] A cigarette-pack collection records this barcode on a German pack of 19 and an Austrian pack of 20 from 1999, both produced by Imperial Tobacco, and on a Portuguese John Player Special Original Black pack of 20 from 2010.[^zigsam] The 2006-2013 Barcodepedia listed the barcode as John Player Special Original.[^bp2009] The brand comes from John Player & Sons of Nottingham, part of Imperial Tobacco since 1901, and is owned and marketed by Imperial Brands.[^wp-players]
According to the collector, the Austrian pack was replaced by John Player Special Original Black in September 2003.[^zigsam] Imperial Tobacco Group changed its name to Imperial Brands in February 2016.[^wp-imperial] An Open Food Facts record under the same barcode names an unrelated can of tuna with no photos and is treated as a data-entry error.[^off]
<!--/about-->