British American Tobacco Plc (BATS), the maker of Lucky Strikes cigarettes, created a unit that will seek to develop nicotine products for people wanting an alternative to cigarettes as governments aim to reduce smoking. Nicoventures Ltd. plans to develop tobacco-free nicotine products, Kate Matrunola, a spokeswoman for London-based BAT, said today. The unit employs four people and will discuss with regulators what sort of products might work, s ... Jump to full article >>

Swedish Match North America marketers started in Vail. Now they are handing out silvery sample packs of snus, a traditional Swedish-style snuff, on Wall Street. It’s the clearest sign yet that the Chesterfield County-based company has a different strategy for snus than that of the nation’s top two tobacco firms, which also are pushing the smokeless tobacco. One element: The company is selling snus as a high-end product. “We are ... Jump to full article >>

The evolution of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. may be shaped in large part by how well it can live down — and learn from — its past. Reynolds received another clear example of that reality last week when the Food and Drug Administration requested research on the company’s three innovative dissolvable smokeless products — Camel Orbs, Camel Sticks and Camel Strips — and others being considered. The Tobacco Products Scient ... Jump to full article >>

In an interview with E Cigarette Direct Professor Carl Phillips, associate professor at the University of Alberta, has argued that electronic cigarettes are a valid alternative to cigarettes, stating: “I think there’s absolutely no doubt that it is a safer alternative to regular cigarettes.” He estimated that electronic cigarettes carried a risk that: “…is probably in the order of 99 percent less harmful than smokin ... Jump to full article >>