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Sector Snap: Tobacco Makers Gain 

Analysts from Lehman Brothers and Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage of Philip Morris International with "Buy" ratings, saying the cigarette maker will be insulated from the threat of U.S. lawsuits and slowing sales.

The split of Altria's cigarette operations into foreign and U.S. units frees Philip Morris International from public-relations concerns and possible lawsuits and allows it to concentrate on expanding its line of cigarette products to markets in developing countries. . . .

Other tobacco companies made gains on Monday.

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Altria Shares Fall After Spin-Off  

Shares of Altria Group Inc. dropped Tuesday after a Morgan Stanley analyst downgraded the stock on its first trading day after spinning off its Philip Morris international business.

Shares fell 98 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $21.22 in afternoon trading.

Analyst David J. Adelman lowered his rating to "Equal Weight" from "Overweight" and said in a note to investors that that the company's prospects for outperformance have diminished.

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Altria flat, but Philip Morris International rises after spinoff  

Altria Group and the newly spun-off Philip Morris International headed in different directions on their first day trading as separate entities, with investors apparently betting the rest of the world is more fertile ground for cigarette sales than the U.S.

Altria was flat most of the day while Philip Morris International rose as much as 6%. However, Altria ended down more than 2% while Philip Morris slipped about 1%.

On Friday, Altria shareholders were given one share of Philip Morris for each one they owned of Altria.

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Philip Morris spin-off to unlock value - Barron's  

The spin-off of Philip Morris International PM.N by its parent Altria will benefit investors in both companies, particularly the new Altria, Barron's reported on Sunday.

The new Altria will have room to cut costs and raise profit margins, the weekly paper said.

It said most of its opportunity lies in the developing world, where a young and growing population may gravitate toward Marlboro and other key brands.

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• Robert Weissman: Philip Morris Intl Commences New Plans to Spread Death and Disease  

The world is about to meet a Philip Morris International that will be even more predatory in pushing its toxic products worldwide.

The new Philip Morris International will be unconstrained by public opinion in the United States -- the home country and largest market of the old, unified Philip Morris -- and will no longer fear lawsuits in the United States.

As a result, Thomas Russo of the investment fund Gardner Russo & Gardner tells Bloomberg, the company "won't have to worry about getting pre-approval from the U.S. for things that are perfectly acceptable in foreign markets." . . .

Yet here comes Philip Morris International, now the world's largest nongovernmental tobacco company. It is permitted to break off from Altria with no regulatory restraint. It proceeds to announce plans to subvert the public health policies that offer the best hope for reducing the toll of tobacco-related death and disease. The markets applaud, governments are mute.

What an extraordinary commentary on the political and ideological potency of the multinational corporation -- and the idea that corporations should presumptively be free to do what they want, with only the most minimal of restraints.

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• Altria moves headquarters to Va.  

When the lights go on at the Altria Group Inc. headquarters today, they will signal the arrival of the latest Fortune 500 company to the Richmond area.

Altria bid farewell Friday to New York City and joins its Henrico County-based subsidiary, Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker, in Virginia.

The move was expected, having been announced as a next step after Altria spun off its international cigarette division. Philip Morris International became a stand-alone unit Friday.

The relocation won't bring many employees to the Richmond area -- company officials have said only a small number made the move from New York. Philip Morris USA had 5,630 full-time equivalent employees in the Richmond area as of Jan. 1.

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• Olympic Games: can Beijing stop 4m people smoking in public?  

Puffing their way through more than two trillion cigarettes a year, more people smoke in China than any other country. Now the people of Beijing will have to kick the habit as the city tries to clean up its act before the Olympic Games.

Smoking is the latest target of the authorities in the capital, who are already clamping down on spitting in the street and trying to persuade commuters to leave their cars at home. It had long been rumoured that smoking would be banned in most public places for the Games, and officials have now revealed that from May 1 it will be prohibited in all government offices and on public transport. Smoke and you incur a fine of £350.

The rules appear to fall short of an outright ban in restaurants, bars and clubs, but they will have to provide non-smoking areas and hotels must offer smoke-free rooms.

Enforcing the ban will not be easy.

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For Smokers Trying to Quit, New Website Is a Boon  

"Re-learn life without cigarettes." That's the motto of a new bilingual website that aims to help smokers kick the habit for good. At BecomeAnEX.org, smokers can create free, personalized quit plans while tracking the "triggers" that lead them to light up (i.e., stress, alcohol, parties, or a "jerk-face" boss). And when those cravings start to mount, a live virtual support group will be there to help.

The site is part of a national public health campaign called "EX" launched Monday in Washington, D.C., by a coalition of prominent organizations to reinvigorate the fight against tobacco addiction. Their aim: to shrink the smoking population--currently about 21 percent of American adults, more than two thirds of whom want to quit--to 12 percent by 2010. Led by the American Legacy Foundation, more than a dozen states and various public health organizations have banded together under the banner of the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation. . . .

Expect to see advertisements for the campaign in coming weeks. Unlike the dry antismoking adds of old, these take a humorous but sympathetic look at the struggles people face adjusting their daily routines to life without cigarettes.

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Alliance One Announces the Sale of Assets in Malawi 

Alliance One International, Inc. (NYSE: AOI) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alliance One Tobacco (Malawi) Limited ("AOI Malawi") has completed the previously announced sale of its Lilongwe North Factory facility, including one threshing line and other related assets, to Africaleaf Processors Limited. The gross proceeds to AOI Malawi are approximately $14.8 million, of which $9.5 million will be recorded as a gain on sale of assets. AOI Malawi separately made an additional investment to enhance the capacity of its Lilongwe South Factory, reflecting the Company's continued commitment to and confidence in the Malawi tobacco industry.

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Ohio Faith Leaders Call on Sen. Voinovich to Cosponsor Legislation to Protect Kids From Tobacco 

Faith, public health and youth leaders from Ohio will hold a press conference on Wednesday, April 2 to release a new report that describes how tobacco companies take advantage of the lack of government regulation and have unleashed a new generation of deadly products aimed at hooking kids and preventing current smokers from quitting. April 2nd is "Kick Butts Day," an annual event where youth nationwide speak out against the tobacco industry.

Legislation is currently pending in Congress that would grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products. The FDA regulates a box of macaroni and cheese and a tube of lipstick, but not a pack of cigarettes. The leaders will call on the entire Ohio Congressional Delegation, particularly U.S. Senator George Voinovich, to cosponsor the legislation.

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New National Public Health Program Shows Smokers How to Become an EX 

An unprecedented new public health campaign created by an alliance of national organizations and state health agencies was launched today in Washington, DC. The program, called EX(R), will change the way smokers think about the difficult process of quitting, and guide them to valuable free resources to build a successful quit attempt. Not since the Fairness Doctrine was applied to tobacco in 1968-1970 have so many public health organizations aligned to get a smoking cessation message to the public at large.

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D.C. Kids 'Kick Butts' on April 2 

Kids across D.C. will rally against tobacco on April 2 as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 13th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Hundreds of events are planned across the nation (for a list of local events, go to http://www.kickbuttsday.org/events).

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Bodybags to be displayed on courthouse lawn Wednesday 

Kids across Ohio will rally against tobacco on Wednesday as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 13th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Hundreds of events are planned across the nation.

At noon at the Clinton County Court House lawn, youth from STAND will display 54 body bags which represent the number of Ohioans who die each day in the U.S. from tobacco and secondhand smoke.

This year, Kick Butts Day is raising awareness about continued tobacco marketing and sales to kids and the need for Congress to crack down on these harmful practices by passing legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.

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• Support Grows for Tobacco Bill 

A long-stalled bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products is picking up momentum in this election season, propelled by sponsors' concessions to some key interests that had opposed the plan.

The bill, which would grant the FDA new power over tobacco-product ingredients and marketing but not allow the agency to ban nicotine, now has support from some tobacco industry interests, such as the biggest U.S. smokeless tobacco maker, that had until recently opposed it.

This week, the bill is likely to pass the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Supporters hope for a vote by the full House later this spring. The bill could still run into barriers in the Senate, and the FDA commissioner, a Bush administration appointee, has raised concerns about it.

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• Reynolds Ads Oppose Move to Regulate Tobacco  

As legislation moves through Congress that would empower the F.D.A. to regulate the tobacco industry, Reynolds, whose brands include Camel cigarettes, is attacking what it views as the bill's vulnerability: a weak, overextended F.D.A.

The company has begun an advertising campaign that includes a television commercial using a comic plate-spinning routine to illustrate its point -- that the F.D.A. is overwhelmed and already unable to properly oversee its core missions of ensuring food and drug safety. So why, the ads ask, should Congress add more to its plate?

"Their own scientific experts warn that the F.D.A. can't do their job properly and warn that lives could be at risk," the ads say.

The ads, in print as well as on television, are running in Washington as well as in selected regional markets that are the homes of crucial members of Congress. . . .

Reynolds introduced a new Web site, fdaconcerns.com, and began the television ads last week in nearly a dozen regional media markets. . . .

One target of the TV campaign is G. K. Butterfield, a House Democrat from Reynolds's home state, North Carolina, who says he supports tobacco regulation. Mr. Butterfield is also a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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