Imperial Tobacco Group , the maker of West and Davidoff cigarettes, may sell tobacco products in the US for the first time as legal risks there decline and UK consumption slows, chief executive officer Gareth Davis said.

The British company is considering ways of expanding in the country, Davis, 56, said today in an interview at his office in Bristol, England, without elaborating. Imperial has ruled out acquisitions in the US to avoid involvement in lawsuits, he said.
"It is a highly attractive market with highly attractive margins," Davis said. The potential problems there are "significantly less" than three or four years ago, he said.
Imperial currently only sells Rizla rolling papers in the US.
Consumers in the US smoke 7 per cent of the world's cigarettes yet account for 30 per cent of the tobacco industry's profit, Davis said. Imperial is seeking new markets after forecasting that the number of duty-paid cigarettes sold in the UK, its biggest market, will probably fall 3 per cent to 4 per cent this fiscal year. Sales volumes are declining as taxes rise and the government prepares a national ban on smoking in public places next year.
Davis said Imperial may make an acquisition bigger than Reemtsma before he retires in four years, as he aims to expand the company into new markets. Imperial sells cigarettes, cigars, roll-your-own tobacco and snuff in more than 130 countries. (pi)