Jump to full article: Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, 2009-06-23
Author: David Ress
Intro: One of the real tests of how federal regulation will affect tobacco use could be something you'll spot at a convenience store counter.
A new law signed by President Barack Obama yesterday will, among many changes, move all tobacco products -- snuff and cigars as well as cigarettes -- behind the counter.
How they share space back there could clear the way for more competition in a market now dominated by Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc.
It's competition that Chesterfield County-based Swedish Match North America is hoping for, and a rule it believes could lead to something it's long wanted: more space on retailer's shelves for its snuff and chewing tobacco.
"It's back to old fashioned blocking and tackling, how to be more competitive -- including against cigarettes," said Gerry Roerty, Swedish Match's president and general counsel.
Both Richmond-area tobacco companies broke with most of the rest of the tobacco industry in supporting the regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. . . . .
"This puts Philip Morris absolutely in control of the American market," said Alan Blum, director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society at the University of Alabama. "This means Marlboro is king."
It is also likely to make oral tobacco -- snuff and similar products -- a major public-health issue, he said.
Swedish Match thinks regulation could open up the market, especially for its oral tobacco, Roerty said.
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