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December 2, 2008 4:43:49 AM CST

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

Posted Jun 23, 08 2:47 PM CDT in Science & Health,  Business 

(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 because they didn't think the taste and flavor was acceptable," says a spokesman for the Philip Morris parent company.

Philip Morris USA saw sales fall 4.6% last year, in an American market off by 4% overall. Altria—which in 2006 stopped development of a battery-powered cigarette holder—has also been working smokeless tobacco products to cushion the blow of continued decline in the cigarette market. One such "spit free" product has been shelved; another—so-called moist snuff—is in test-marketing phase.

Source Wall Street Journal

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The new Corporate headquarters sign of Altria in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Altria is expected to release it's quarterly earnings Thursday.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Michael E. Szymanczyk, chairman and chief executive officer of Altria Group Inc., speaks at the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, May 28, 2008, in Richmond, Va.   (AP Photo/Altria Group)
Sales fell 4.6% last year for Philip Morris USA, the key source of revenue for parent company Altria; overall, the US cigarette market dropped 4%.   (AP Photo)
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