The brand name commemorates the English tobacconist, entrepreneur, and inventor Alfred Dunhill.

Dunhill was founded in London on 10 March 1907 when tobacconist and inventor Alfred Dunhill opened a small tobacconist's shop on Duke Street in the St James's area.

It was designed to counter any perceived health risk and had a "world first - cotton wool filter tip.

[5] Despite South Africa having one of the toughest anti-tobacco laws in Africa, the company failed to comply with the law, pushing on both government fronts and covert advertising and promotions.

In 2010, while markets in Turkey, Iran, and South Africa declined, BAT's profit from the African and Middle East regions grew by £134 million to £858 million, driven largely by its Nigerian market.