I remember reading one of the 'classics' talking about how the oriental cigarette companies always made very tasty smokes when they started, gaining a reputation for a good blend of spicy oriental leaf, but would quickly descend into a bland 'straw and camel hair' filled smoke, making way for yet another oriental cigarette company to start up...
The book? I can't remember. The author? Rudyard Kipling? Alexandre Dumas? Not sure.
But you should take my word for it.