Philip Morris USA has started test-marketing roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette tobacco, its first venture into that market.

This summer, the biggest U.S. cigarette-maker started selling pouches and canisters of L&M brand tobacco in Maine and Michigan, spokesman Bill Phelps said. The three-quarter-ounce pouches, which include rolling paper, are sold for USD 4.00.
Philip Morris acquired the L&M brand in 1999 and has positioned the one-time flagship of the old Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. as a discount brand.
Last year, roll-your-own tobacco sales jumped 17 per cent to more than 20 million pounds, U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau statistics show. During the past five years, sales increased by 60 per cent. However, compared with conventional cigarettes, the roll-your-own market still is small.(pi)