winston is an american brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by itg brands, subsidiary of imperial tobacco in the united states and by japan tobacco outside the u.s. the brand is named after the town where r. j. reynolds started his business which is winston-salem, north carolina. , winston has the seventh-highest u.s. market share (2 percent) of all cigarette brands, according to the centers for disease control and prevention and the maxwell report. this market share has been falling since 2003, when it peaked at 3.92 percent, although winston has consistently been in the top 10 cigarette brands by u.s. market share since 2001, according to data from the substance abuse and mental health services administration's national household survey on drug abuse.