Swedish Match (SM) - second quarter 2008 tax free sales increased..

In the second quarter Swedish Match said snuff earnings in Scandinavia improved significantly year-on-year. Tax-free (sales) and Norway compensated for lower volumes in Sweden - (caused by a rise in the excise tax on snuff in 2008. We must get the United States Postal Service (USPS) out of the tobacco delivery business.. Once accomplished it will address the problem of illegal sales of tobacco to children over the internet and by phone. The State of Ohio has started collecting the tax on phone and online tobacco sales.

Swedish Match (Svenska Tandsticks) has not signed onto the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (STMSA) U.S. Smokeless Tobacco (USST) is the only signatory. The states have approached Swedish Match several times about joining the STMSA, but SM always responds that it voluntarily adheres to the marketing and advertising restrictions in the STMSA. Red Man promotion of an auto racing event would be a STMS Agreement violation because it combines advertising for SM's sponsorship of auto racing and Red Man Moist Snuff. But SM is not subject to the same restrains on marketing as USST and cigarette manufacturers since they did not sign settlement. SM's latest promotion with their discount Longhorn moist snuff is a sweepstakes giving a way a Toyota Tundra or a Triton Bass Boat. In the U.S. SM's share of the moist snuff was 11.8 percent for the year up to June 14, 2008 (from the Q2 - report access provided above.)
(TobaccoWatch.org)