You can’t shake a stick (pun intended) without seeing something advertising e-cigarettes. Now the Marlboro Man may soon be hitching his wagon to a new kind of cigarette.
Altria Group Inc., owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, that its NuMark subsidiary plans to introduce an electronic cigarette during the second half of the year, making it the last of the major domestic tobacco companies to enter the growing category. As reported in www.sfgate.com.
While it's a small market compared with traditional tobacco products, there's no denying that adult tobacco consumers have shown some interest in it.
The move is the latest in an industry-wide push to diversify beyond the traditional cigarette business, which has become tougher in the face of tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma.
Reynolds American Inc., owner of the second-biggest U.S. cigarette maker, has begun limited distribution of its first electronic cigarette under the Vuse brand and Lorillard Inc., the nation's third-biggest tobacco company, acquired e-cigarette maker Blu Ecigs in April 2012.
Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale. Some e-cigarettes are made to look like a real cigarette with a tiny light on the tip that glows like the real thing.
Who would have thought the day would come that the tobacco industry would recognize that it was time to consider a serious change to its product? Maybe the oil industry will follow suit!