Lucky's story tells tales of the company's sacrifice of their signature green package to conserve the copper used in the ink during the War. However, the truth is far more Mad Men than Uncle Sam. The change to the white label was actually to modernize the look of their product and appeal more to women. They felt the new "modern" design would allow for a broader audience, and even better, a chance to tell the grand story of the redesign to help with the war effort. Spin Doctors at work.
Well, before Lucky made the ultimate display of patriotism, they sent the troops thousands of cartons of green-label goods. The early WWII GREEN LABELS go for a pretty penny on auction sites, but they're still out there. I don't smoke, but the more I look at these, the more I want to... well... okay, I'll admit it, I just wanna buy an old pack and put it on my shelf.