Reynolds American told investors on Monday that it would begin selling Camel brand dissolvable tobacco products in mid- to late January in three trial markets.

The nation's second-biggest tobacco company said that various dissolvable strips, orbs and sticks will be sold early next year,  in Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana and Portland, Oregon.
The company's dissolvable tobacco products come in three shapes. Orbs are pellets that last about 15 minutes; strips last up to five minutes and sticks, which are shaped like a toothpick but slightly bigger, last up to 20 minutes. They are likely to cost less than cigarettes, said David Howard, a company spokesman.
Among their biggest selling points for smokers, who increasingly have  fewer places to light up, is that there is no spitting and nothing left to throw away.
"We are very excited about the potential of these modern smoke-free products," Brice O'Brien, a senior vice president of growth and innovation, told investors. O'Brien said it was too early to tell if dissolvable tobacco would prove to be a breakthrough innovation, like menthol or filtered cigarettes. However,  he said focus group testing on adult smokers showed greater interest for dissolvable tobacco than for snus. (pi)