NEW YORK - Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris USA has cancelled
its Marlboro Ultra Smooth cigarettes, highlighting challenges it faces in
trying to grow its tobacco business despite a decline in U.S. cigarette sales,
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Altria gets nearly all its
revenue from Philip Morris USA after spinning off its Philip Morris
International operations, the Journal reported.
Philip Morris's sales volume
fell 4.6 percent last year, worse than the 4 percent decline in the overall
U.S. cigarette market, the Journal reported. Underlying sales volume fell 3.6
percent, the Journal added.
The company expects overall
cigarette sales to fall at an annual rate of 2.5 percent to 3 percent in coming
years, the Journal reported.
Philip Morris has turned to
developing tobacco products that are not as risky to their user's health, the
Journal said. Ultra Smooth cigarettes include an activated carbon filter that
delivers nicotine but with potentially less exposure to the carcinogens of
conventional cigarettes, the Journal reported.
A Philip Morris spokesman was
unavailable for comment.
