Survey looks at new tobacco products, predicts hit for PM USA's Marlboro Snus...

July 5, 2007 - Survey looks at new tobacco products, predicts hit for PM USA's Marlboro Snus NEW YORK -- PM USA’s Marlboro Snus will be a hit, according to Citigroup tobacco analyst Bonnie Herzog in her most recent research report, which details the results of the firm’s proprietary tobacco trade survey of wholesalers and retailers. The majority of the firm’s industry trade contacts said they believe PM USA was very smart to leverage its Marlboro brand for its new smokeless product and made the right decision by entering the smokeless category via a snus product. Almost all (97%) of the survey respondents indicated they will carry Marlboro Snus when it is available to them. Herzog expects Marlboro SNUS to be far more successful than Camel SNUS. Also it is believed that UST (US Smokeless Tobacco) could suffer the most from the national roll-out of Marlboro SNUS. (CSP (Convenience Store / Petroleum) Daily News)

Read more...

Our children are in danger of becoming nicotine addicts...

July 4, 2007 - Our children are in danger of becoming nicotine addicts..
from the SNUS.biz web site: Camel Snus tag will be - “pleasure for wherever whenever.” Mitch Zeller, a health policy consultant who was director of the Office of Tobacco Programs at the FDA during the Clinton Administration, said the web site for Camel Snus "seems aimed at young adult males to get them to start using products." The site says Reynolds found Snus in Sweden, "home of the world's best meatballs, massage and blondes." Comments from public heath personnel in Portland, OR - one of the original test markets sites. Kylie Meiner, the tobacco prevention coordinator for Multnomah County where one of the two test sites for Camel Snus is located is convinced that the marketing is aimed at young people. One direct mail item she received read “Camel Snus – be the 1st on your block to try it” (Portland Tribune, 11/20/2006). Cathryn Cushing, a specialist with the Oregon's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, "I see it as a young adult marketing strategy, and we have a lot of hip young adults in this city," Cushing said. And "if it appeals to a 22-year-old, I think you can assume it will appeal to a 16-year-old. Because what do 16-year-olds want to be? Twenty-two" (The Oregonian, 1/7/2007). Comment from Metroblogging User - Portland, OR: There are only two drawbacks. First, it doesn't take a genius to see what a boon snus would be to underage users. Heck, you could sit in class with some in your mouth, and no one would be the wiser. At least when I was in high school, you had the telltale clumps of 'chaw' in the water fountains to betray the tobacco user, or at least the worn white rings in the back pocket of your jeans. You could probably hide this stuff from teachers and parents pretty easily. Second, although smokeless tobacco saves you from some of the risk of heart disease and lung cancer, plenty of smokeless tobacco users out there have developed cancer of the mouth or throat, and have had large chunks of their jaws and tongues removed as a result. But that's a hard image to sell to sixteen-year-olds, who are pretty sure that they're immortal ("You Snus, You Lose" posted by PAgent at 1:50pm on January 8, 2007). (TobaccoWatch.org) Read more...

C-stores in Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Kansas City, MO, Orlando, FL, and Raleigh, NC (and to the east of Greensboro, NC) should expect the arriva

July 2, 2007 - SNUS is coming.. C-stores in Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Kansas City, MO, Orlando, FL, and Raleigh, NC (and to the east of Greensboro, NC) should expect the arrival of Camel SNUS mini-refrigerators any day now. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco is ready to pay to have the frig center stage where all the patrons can see. Since June 2006 Camel SNUS has been test marketed in Austin, TX and Portland, OR.Click on image to enlarge.. See also June 8, 2007 Newsbrief.. (TobaccoWatch.org)

Read more...

July 1, 2007 - as of 7/1/2007 Smokers in five states will take a hit to their wallets as the tax increases: Alaska - another 20 cents, up to $2.25 per pack for those that were not part of the 1998 Tobacco Settlement Agreement, slightly less for the others; Connecticut - increased by 49 cents to $2.00 per pack; Indiana - increased by 44 cents to 99.5 cents per pack; New Hampshire - increased by 28 cents to $1.08 per pack - still below the other New England states; and Tennessee - increased by 42 cents to 62 cents per pack (still well below the national average of 80 cents per pack). Congratulations (The News & Observer) 

The Dummies - Pennsylvania already taxes cigarettes, but is the only state in the union that doesn't tax other tobacco products, such as pipe and rolling tobacco, chew and cigars. Why!!! Meanwhile 800,000 PA adults lack health insurance. (tobaccowatch.org) 

Read more...

Philip Morris (PM) to close N.C. cigarette plant..

June 26, 2007 - Philip Morris (PM) to close N.C. cigarette plant.. PM USA will close its 2,500-employee cigarette plant in Concord in Cabarrus County, North Carolina in three years, citing a decline in U.S. demand for cigarettes. Most local production will move to the company's Richmond, Va., facility, where many of the Cabarrus County plant's workers would be offered jobs, the company announced on Tuesday, June 26, 2007. The decision to close the 2.4 million-square-foot Concord plant is part of a larger plan by the subsidiary of New York-based Altria Group Inc. to consolidate its facilities and move more cigarette production to Europe, where smoking isn't taking such a large hit as in the United States. The decision will leave the 1.6 million-square-foot Richmond facility as Philip Morris' only U.S. production plant. The Concord shutdown will hit the local economy hard. Philip Morris is Concord's top taxpayer; in 2006, the company paid nearly $5 million in total municipal taxes. Cigarettes can be produced at a lower cost overseas and marketed to customers who are not as concerned about health issues as they are in the United States, where consumption has been on the decline since the 1960s. (by Ken Elkins, Charlotte Business Journal, 6/26/2007) Click on image to enlarge.. Read more...