UST, Inc. Don't view SNUS as something that has a major impact on our core business.

October 17, 2007 - UST, Inc. Don't view SNUS as something that has a major impact on our core business. Q2 2007 Earnings Call (July 26, 2007 9:00 am ET) - Comments pertaining to SNUS - Dan Butler (Daniel W. Butler has been the President of U S Smokeless Tobacco Company, a subsidiary of UST Inc., since November 3, 2005), Snus in our view really means discrete spit-free pouches and we've been testing that concept with Rebel and Skoal Dry and other things for a number of years. So we clearly have the technology and we've been gathering a lot of learning about this for some time. I think we and our competitors might think are all probably trying to optimize the product bundle and get that right and get the positioning right. We continue to learn from our test markets both in Denver with Rebel and our other two markets with Skoal Dry and we will make adjustments. We do think that there is a strong concept here. I think it's going to take some time, some education, awareness building and I expect it to be a slow build. At this point I would say none of those products are in the marketplace are off to a rapid vapid start. I believe it is going to be a long slow build but we are committed to the concept we think there's something there. The other thing I would say about snus is I don't view that at all as something that has a major impact on our core business. It is not traditional round can moist smokeless tobacco in all of the test markets. Ours and competitors, we have seen no impact on our core business and in fact have seen category growth accelerate, those are products that are really designed for and positioned to adult smokers that appears to be the source of volume. And I think with us and others making investments in building the awareness and the trial for these things will be good for the overall category. Murray Kessler, President and CEO of UST, the holding company for U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company)- Yes and I would just add to that, there's nothing we have seen from those competitive test markets that would dictate a change in our strategy. We will make the decisions that are right for our shareholders based on our ability to create value and launch winning products, that's always our model.