The one who designed these cigarettes was Hiroshi Manabe, the illustrator for the novelist Shinichi Hoshi.
Shirai began working in a restaurant at the venue because he wanted to go to the Expo. When he asked one of his friends who was working in the souvenir shop what was selling best, he said that it was tobacco.
Back then, many Japanese people smoked. Trains, planes, and even movie theaters would be cloudy from the smoke. It was cheap to purchase and it was a popular souvenir regardless of whether or not the person you were going to give them to smoked.
Ashtrays were also popular and many companies made them as Expo goods. Interestingly enough, all the companies used the Expo logo as a motif. Though they all went through different manufacturers, everyone seemed to have had the same thought.