Altria to Enter E-Cigarette Market

Yesterday we reported that Altria, the makers of Marlboro, L&M and other major cigarettes brands and the largest tobacco company in the world, was the last of the three largest American tobacco companies not to have entered the e-cigarette market. On the heels of that report comes a story from the Wall Street Journal announcing Altria’s intention to market an electronic cigarette product, for which it has not yet announced a name, later this year.

Sales of traditional cigarettes have slowed, dropping 5.2% for Altria, and 6.2% for the industry overall, in the last quarter. Other companies such as Lorillard, makers of the Blu e-cigarette brand, have still managed to show increased revenue thanks in part to e-cigarette sales growth.

This is probably a mixed blessing for vapers. While more visibility and a wide variety of choices are probably good for users of e-cigarettes, and will surely save the lives of smokers who switch, we’re already seeing efforts from tobacco companies like R.J. Reynolds to enact legislation designed to crush smaller e-cigarette makers and vendors, to give large tobacco companies an advantage. Legislation currently under consideration in Oklahoma would require expensive licenses and prohibit Internet sales, giving a huge lift to companies like Atria who already have the licenses, and depend on brick and mortar stores for the bulk of their sales.

Altria to Enter E-Cigarette Market – WSJ.com.

Altria to Enter E-Cigarette Market