Battery powered devices called “E-cigarettes,” heat liquid nicotine in a disposable cartridge and produce a vapor that’s inhaled. Often at a discount to what traditional cigarettes cost, consumers can buy refill cartridges in various flavors.
“We are pleased to announce another step in our efforts to address the changing preferences of adult tobacco consumers,” Altria‘s chairman and chief executive, Marty Barrington, said Thursday. “In the second half of this year, Altria’s subsidiary, Nu Mark, plans to introduce an electronic cigarette.”
Lorillard Inc., with its blue eCigs brand, as well as smaller rivals such as NJOY, some of Altria‘s competitors, have been quicker to seize on the rising popularity of e-cigarettes.
With constant calls for more regulation by anti-smoking groups and lawmakers has kept this product category under review by the USFDA.
Altria reported Thursday that its cigarette sales volume fell 5.2% in the first quarter. The Marlboro brand’s sales volume dropped 5.5%.
The company, based in Richmond, Va., said its first-quarter net income grew 16% to $1.4 billion, or 69 cents a share, from $1.2 billion, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue declined 2% to $5.5 billion.
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Park Sae-jin
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