British American Tobacco to Create 'Safer' Nicotine Products

The company will work on developing nicotine products without tobacco for consumers who want options to cigarettes.

April 06, 2011

LONDON - British American Tobacco Plc (BAT) has created Nicoventures Ltd. to come up with alternatives to cigarettes that have nicotine but not tobacco, Bloomberg reports. The maker of Lucky Strikes is seeking other products to cater to consumers who don??t want to quit smoking but who want a "safer" option to cigarettes.

"It??s not for cessation," said Kate Matrunola, a BAT spokeswoman. "There is an unmet need out there for consumers" who want nicotine alternatives.

Other tobacco companies have explored different options to smoking, such as RJR Nabisco??s Premier smokeless cigarette in the late 1980s. Star Scientific Inc. has developed a moist, smokeless tobacco product that it wants to sell as "safer" than other tobacco products. The company also might start offering tobacco lozenges. Altria Inc. is testing new smokeless products in several U.S. markets.

The global cigarette market will likely drop by 2.5 percent this year, said Nicandro Durante, CEO of BAT. With added advertising and marketing restrictions, promoting smoking alternatives could be difficult. Another obstacle is the European Union ban on selling snus.

"The biggest obstacles will be regulatory," said Erik Bloomquist, a Berenberg Bank analyst. "The mindset in much of public health around tobacco is quit or die, not harm-reduction."

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