When I was growing all "men" without fail would smoke. Of these "men" the coolness was determined by the type of cigarettes they smoked. The special and coolest category were those who smoked filterless gang - Camel and Lucky Strike. They also had a distinct style and with no exception = a cigarette stick would be tapped out by the index finger with 2 taps on the top middle, with the stick emerging on the side that is open. The stick is pulled out with 2 fingers, and one end is tapped on box 2 to 3 times for the tobacco to be compacted.
The filterless gang would be aged at least 40 plus having matured with time and filtered sticks will no longer do. They also were the quieter ones except when the alcohol is in their veins.
Hahahahaaa............... Very true. Managed to visualise what you wrote in para 1. Don't witness such tappings nowadays. Maybe coz we hardly purchase soft packets now.