The forerunner of the modern lighter was the flintlock pistol, which was based on the age-old way of igniting combustible material - striking flint against iron. More modern lighters, using flint to ignite gasoline or other flammable liquid, appeared in the 1800s. In 1911, the automatic lighter was introduced. It ignited at the push of a button, and was fueled by gasoline or methanol.
During the World War I, the lighter development stopped and thousands of glowing wood lighters were manufactured. Trench-bound soldiers avoided flame lighters for fear that the flame would be spotted by sharpshooters. The development resumed when the war ended.Gas lighters arrived at the end of the 1940s. Their development in the 1950s had an enormous impact on the lighter industry. In 1965, Swedish Match launched its first disposable lighter, which quickly acquired a premier position in its market segment. The name of the lighter, made from an oversupply of lipstick containers, was Round Stick. In the 1980s, electronic lighters were launched. Today, Swedish Match´s leading lighter brand is Cricket. Over 300 million Cricket lighters are sold each year in over 140 countries. At Swedish Match, high quality is a given. All lighters are certified and complementary to the international safety norms: ISO 9994:2005, ISO 22702 and EN 13869. The management system is certified with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001:2004.
