Altria

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Legal Pot Could Be Next Move for Marlboro Maker

Altria is in talks with a Canadian company

(Newser) - The maker of Marlboro cigarettes is joining some of the biggest names in beer in exploring the budding cannabis marketplace. Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris USA, is the latest big company to show interest in marijuana. Canadian medical marijuana company Cronos Group Inc. has confirmed talks with Altria...

3 Surprising Stats That Show How Big Tobacco Is Booming

Despite fewer smokers, cigarette companies have managed to rake in cash

(Newser) - The number of cigarettes sold in the US has declined 37% since 2001. Tobacco regulations are stricter than ever, and Big Tobacco has lost high-profile lawsuits costing millions. Yet the tobacco industry has reported a 32% increase in revenue, totaling $93.4 billion in 2016. According to reporting from the...

$27B Tobacco Merger Creates Cigarette 'Duopoly'

Reynolds, Lorillard to merge

(Newser) - Reynolds American, the maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes, has agreed to buy Lorillard, the maker of Newport menthols, in a deal that will make it a strong second to Marlboro manufacturer Altria in the US tobacco market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reynolds will pay a combination of...

Fla. Jury: Philip Morris Must Pay Ex-Smoker $300M

Tobacco company found negligent in state's largest verdict

(Newser) - A South Florida jury today ordered Philip Morris to pay $300 million to a former smoker, agreeing that the tobacco company's negligence was the cause of her emphysema. The award for Cindy Naugle, 61, is the largest to date among thousands of lawsuits filed in the state against tobacco companies....

Cigarette Companies Lied, Appeals Court Rules

(Newser) - Tobacco companies engaged in “deceits” and knowingly marketed cigarettes without regard for consumers’ health, violating civil racketeering laws, a federal appeals court ruled today. In upholding the verdict in a landmark case brought by the Clinton Justice Department in 1999, the court refused to overturn a district judge’s...

Big Tobacco Suffers Big Setbacks in DC

Despite massive lobbying, regulation looks likely to pass

(Newser) - After years of winning its fights in Washington, Big Tobacco is steeling itself for a major defeat: Not only did Congress pass an excise tax hike of 62 cents a pack of cigarettes, which went into effect this week, but the House voted overwhelmingly to submit the industry to FDA...

Maker of Marlboros May Buy Skoal for $10B

(Newser) - The nation’s largest cigarette maker, Altria Group, is in talks to acquire UST, the producer of Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobaccos for a rumored $10 billion, the New York Times reports. Altria, a spinoff of Philip Morris, makes Marlboro cigarettes. Negotiators were poised to strike a deal over the...

Altria's 'Safer' Smokes Latest in Line of Flops

Marlboro Ultra Smooth can't beat declining demand in 3-year test

(Newser) - Altria is dropping its Marlboro Ultra Smooth cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports—the latest in a growing list of failures to sell Americans on so-called "safer" tobacco products. The cigarettes, which used special filters to block carcinogens, failed to attract consumer interest in a 3-year test, "presumably...

Supreme Court to Hear $79M Cigarette Verdict for 3rd Time

Justices to decide if Oregon court ignored instruction to limit punitive damages

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a third appeal of Oregon’s $79.5-million punitive-damage award against Philip Morris. The justices have twice sent the verdict back to Oregon’s high court, part of an effort to limit punitive damages to nine times the size of compensatory damages. This...

Tobacco Giant Plans Spinoff of Overseas Arm

Philip Morris unit, less vulnerable to lawsuits, can focus on growth

(Newser) - Altria, the world's largest tobacco company, wants to break its Philip Morris International unit off from its US counterpart, Bloomberg reports, to pursue greater overseas growth while insulating it from health-related US lawsuits. "Tobacco is growing overseas, while in the US it's in decline, making a reasonable argument for...

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