Marlboro will launch smokeless tobacco

Company considers that consumers will count on new product less harmful and containing less carcinogens with the same amount of nicotine. Besides it, packets could be used at work, in restaurants, and other public places where smoking is banned – and there are more and more such places appear now.

Philip Morris considers snus as a cigarette alternative. The packet should keep Marlboro taste causing no harm to health.

American lawmakers look through new standards which are less tough and aimed to smokeless tobacco products. This could be useful for Philip Morris. Snus packets are not known in America in the meantime but they became popular in Sweden. In the USA is widely-spread ordinary chewing tobacco. This is the first-rate segment of smokeless tobacco market which overturn reaches 3 billion dollars a year.

This market Reynolds American is lagging behind Philip Morris. Reynolds American bought the biggest chewing tobacco manufacturer Conwoo for 3,5 billion dollars. Today Reynolds which used the popularity of Camel brand, takes the second place on the smokeless tobacco market. Philip Morris began to test its first smokeless product Taboka last year. Taboka costs 3,5 dollars , it is approximately the same price with the pack of Marlboro cigarettes.

Smokeless tobacco market grows on 3-4 percent a year during last 10 years and cigarette sales began to cut down in 1970’s. Last year after the state statistics cigarette consumption cut down on 1,3 percent to 371 billion cigarettes in the USA.

Cigarette business was extremely profitable for Philip Morris. As the other companies, it managed to compensate reduction of demand with rise in prices. The company needs to assimilate new segments of tobacco branch according as Altria approaches the arrangement of separation of its part - Philip Morris International. The decision about it could be adopted this summer.