Jump to full article: Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, 2009-06-12
Author: Richard Craver * Journal Reporter
Intro: Analysts on both sides of the regulatory fence said that tighter regulation of the tobacco industry is not likely to produce a doom-and-gloom future for the industry.
But in the long term, they agree that the new regulatory standards passed yesterday by the U.S. Senate likely will cement Philip Morris USA's status at the top manufacturer, and that extra compliance costs will be passed on to smokers.
. . .
"Given that today's tobacco products are grandfathered into the legislation, and tobacco products will continue to be sold in retail outlets, we do not expect any significant immediate effects on the sector," said Christopher Collins, an associate director at Fitch Ratings. . . .
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has had more than 10 years to consider the possibility that a bill like this would pass, spokeswoman Maura Payne said.
"Thus, we have spent considerable time analyzing how best we could comply with regulations like these, what we needed to do in our organization to prepare for compliance, and what we needed to do across all of our operating companies to ensure that all were successfully able to comply," she said.
Payne said that the rule-making process and establishment of the details surrounding the bill will take some time.
"We will participate to the degree that we are able to in that process, but, at the end of the day, we intend to continue to successfully compete for the business of adults who choose to use tobacco," she said.
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