A cigarette packing method and machine, whereby blanks, fed successively along a feed path inside respective feed pockets, are fed to a loading station where each blank is transferred, by a pusher and along a transfer path, to a respective packing pocket fed to the loading station along a packing path, and is folded partly, during transfer along the transfer path, to define a seat for receiving a respective wrapped group of cigarettes, and which is formed by feeding the blank and the pusher through a folding spindle located, at the loading station, between the feed path and the packing path and along the transfer path.