RICHMOND, Va. -- Philip Morris USA said Monday it has ended test markets of Marlboro-branded cigarettes that use a high-technology filter, according to the Associated Press. The company said it pulled the plug on Marlboro Ultra Smooth and Marlboro Ultra Light cigarettes, which used an activated carbon filter to deliver nicotine with potentially less exposure to carcinogens than in conventional cigarettes.
PM USA said it stopped making new shipments of Marlboro Ultra Smooth to wholesalers on April 1. Those cigarettes were being tested in Atlanta, Tampa, Fla., and Salt Lake City for more [image-nocss] than three years. Marlboro Ultra Lights in Phoenix and North Dakota, and Basic Ultra Lights in Washington state also were discontinued, the company said.
"We did see lower consumer acceptance of those products in some of the test markets," spokesperson Bill Phelps told the news agency. "These are test markets, and they're designed to help us learn a lot of things. In the case of Ultra Smooth, it was designed to help us understand consumer acceptance of those particular products' taste and flavor."
Phelps said the company had made no claims that the products reduced health risks.
PM USA saw a 4.6% decline in cigarette sales volume last year, but said that is estimated to be down 3.6% when adjusted for calendar differences and other factors. The industrywide decline is estimated at 4% in the United States.
The company has projected that cigarette sales volume will fall between 2.5% to 3% in the United States over the next few years because of concerns about health, smoking bans and price increases. In turn, PM USA is looking to growing its business in other tobacco categories and reduced-risk products, Phelps said.
"We remain committed to our overall objective of reducing the harm caused by cigarette smoking," Phelps said. "That work will continue both for conventional lit-end cigarettes as well as what we would describe as noncombustible tobacco products."
Last year, the company began testing of its Marlboro-branded moist smokeless tobacco product in Atlanta and recently expanded to counties in the surrounding metropolitan area. It also began testing a moist powdered tobacco called Marlboro Snus in Dallas last year, and also has expanded the test to Indianapolis.
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