Business
Altria’s cigarette addiction is getting worse
For years, tobacco companies have struggled with regulators more than one another. That could be about to change, and Altria in particular needs a game plan.
If Philip Morris International’s $16 billion offer for Swedish oral nicotine bag maker Match is accepted, US tobacco makers will suddenly have a nimble new competitor. Shortly after being co-owned by Marlboro, Altria, spun off in 2008 to focus on overseas markets, declining international tobacco sales forced Philip Morris to innovate in smokeless products. Since 2014, the company has been building IQOS from the ground up — a brand of heat-not-burn tobacco that now generates $9 billion in annual sales.