In Process - Some 2009 Predictions..

Altria completes purchase of UST, Inc. and moves to slow market share losses that have occurred over the lat 10 years. Most likely the price of Skoal and Copenhagen will be reduced to compete with Conwood's discount brand Grizzly.

Philip Morris International - targeting affluent people in developing countries. more spending money .. They see a market expansion opportunity in
developing countries, due to growing affluence in those countries;

Expansion legislation of the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) program to provide health care to low-income children will be approved by the end of March 2009. The $35 billion expansion would enable the joint federal/state program to add 3 million children to its rolls, which currently includes about 6 million children whose families couldn't otherwise afford it. (SCHIP expansion legislation time to try again..

SNUS-like tobacco products will be phased out in the U.S.A.

U.S. The people will rise up and prevent companies like R.J. Reynolds from marketing dissolvable products like candy-like pellets, toothpicks and edible film strips all laced with nicotine - also to a lesser extent flavored cigars.

U.S. Time to make revisions to the Senate's Version of "The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act" (H.R.1108/S.625). No longer necessary to get the Altria's input. Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) has pointed out, "Poison peddlers shouldn’t get to decide how we as responsible legislators fight the war against their deadly products." (Revise Senate's Version FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill...

U.S. - Passage of the legislation to prevent the United Postal Service from delivering tobacco products - PACT - Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. (PACT Legislation now in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee..)

Health insurance - increase the penalty tobacco user shave to pay to obtain health insurance.

Keep on taxing all tobacco products.. States Need Quick Influx of Revenue – Think Tobacco Tax..

U.S. signed the FCTC in May 10, 2004 but never ratified.. President Obama will submit the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - first world health treaty - to the U.S. Senate for ratification. The Bush administration signed the treaty in May 10, 2004 (the treaty was signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson), but has opposed some of the limits on marketing and has not sent it to the Senate. The United States is one of only two populous countries--the other is Indonesia, another major tobacco producer and consumer--that have not yet ratified the treaty.