Philip Morris USA will introduce a moist smokeless tobacco product this fall under the Marlboro brand, selling it first in the Atlanta area.
The company will sell the loose, spitting tobacco in original and wintergreen flavors, and in long and fine cut, for about $3 a can. It is part of a wider effort to sell more smokeless products in the U.S. as cigarette consumption declines due to concerns about health, smoking bans and price increases.
“This new type of moist snuff product offering kind of builds on that premium tobacco experience that Marlboro represents,” Philip Morris USA spokesman David Sutton said.
Analysts have long expected Philip Morris USA to enter the smokeless business.Citigroup analyst Bonnie Herzog told investors that Philip Morris USA “will fully cement its place in the smokeless segment” using the power of its Marlboro brand.”We anticipate that PM USA will be able to attract the majority of smokers that will cross over into the smokeless market, as well as attract existing moist users.”
Last summer, the company test marketed a spitless tobacco product, called Taboka, in the Indianapolis market. Earlier this month, Philip Morris began testing Marlboro Snus in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Both products are small pouches of tobacco that resemble tea bags.