Philip Morris International (PMI) will link up with Swedish Match to sell snuff globally as restrictions on cigarette use lead to increased demand for smokeless products.

Both companies will license their trademarks to a joint venture, which will sell Swedish snuff ("snus") and other smokeless tobacco products worldwide outside of Scandinavia and the US.
Snus is “recognised by many in the scientific and public health community to be significantly less harmful than cigarette smoking”, the companies said in a statement. Snus is the main profit contributor for Swedish Match, which faces tougher competition at home and in the US after Altria Group and British American Tobacco bought snuff makers last year.
“This can be a very interesting proposition for Asia and possibly parts of Africa,” said Lars Dahlgren, head of Swedish Match. “This is a long-term commitment. We will not do it overnight.”
Marketing restrictions and consumers’ existing tobacco habits are among the obstacles Swedish Match and PMI will face, Dahlgren said. The US moist snuff market has recently been growing at an annual rate of four per cent to five per cent, he added. (pi)