They'd Like to Teach the World to Smoke

With marketing constraints increasing and cigarette usage declining in the developed world, Philip Morris (PM) is increasingly targeting smokers in other countries. PM now makes sweet-smelling cigarettes with cloves and other flavors that have twice the tar and nicotine as conventional products, created to appeal to smokers in developing countries. One example is PM's "Marlboro Mix 9," which is already sold in Indonesia and will soon be available throughout Southeast Asia. Another new PM product is "Tobacco Block," a roll-your-own cigarette system that allows smokers to avoid paying taxes on manufactured cigarettes. PM's "Marlboro Intense" is a shorter cigarette for smokers facing smoking bans who need a cigarette suited to a quick smoke break. Altria Group, Inc., PM's parent company, is expected to spin off PM International into an independent business that it hopes will be exempt from U.S. tobacco regulations and out of reach of American litigators.