UST Inc. will increase marketing and introduce new products to counter increased competition from Altria Group Inc. and Reynolds American Inc.

December 21, 2007 - UST Inc. (principal subsidiaries: U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates), the largest U.S. snuff-maker, said yesterday (12/19/2007) that it will increase marketing and introduce new products to counter increased competition from Altria Group Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. Americans are smoking nearly 2 percent fewer cigarettes each year, prompting Philip Morris USA to begin selling a Marlboro snus product in Atlanta (actually Dallas/Ft. Worth - TW) and Reynolds to test a Camel Snus product in seven markets, including Greensboro, High Point and the Triangle. New UST products include wintergreen-flavored Skoal Edge and new varieties of Skoal Dry, a spitless snuff in small pouches. UST said it plans to spend more than $100 million in 2008 on marketing and other steps to increased sales. ( "UST snuff-maker to crank up marketing, fight competition" Winston-Salem Journal, December 20, 2007)