R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is going national with Camel Snus, convinced that the smokeless product is gaining traction with adult smokers.
Camel Snus will be sold primarily in convenience stores and tobacco outlets beginning in late January or early February, David Howard, a company spokesman, said yesterday.
The product comes in a small pouch that is placed between the lip and gum. The tobacco is pasteurized, not fermented, and it contains less moisture and salt than moist snuff. It also does not require the consumer to spit, Reynolds said.
"We have been very deliberate in the test marketing of Camel Snus," Howard said. "All indications point to Camel Snus being a viable product for adult tobacco consumers."
The national distribution of Camel Snus is the latest step in Reynolds' bid to make its tobacco products more accessible within a society that's clamping down on smoking.
The company introduced three dissolvable smokeless products on Oct. 7 -- a pellet (Camel Orbs), a twisted stick the size of a toothpick (Camel Sticks) and a film strip for the tongue (Camel Strips).
Reynolds has been the most aggressive U.S. tobacco manufacturer with snus, having begun its first trial 2½ years ago. It expanded from eight to 17 metropolitan areas in May. The product is available at Sheetz convenience stores in Winston-Salem and at convenience stores in Greensboro and High Point.
Howard said that Reynolds has primarily focused on smokers with its Camel Snus marketing "in hopes of adding the product to their repertoire of tobacco choices."
"There has been a learning curve for us in how to market Camel Snus, and a learning curve for adult tobacco consumers on how to use it."
Although Reynolds does not dictate the price of Camel Snus at retail, the price is comparable to a premium pack of cigarettes, which typically sells for $4 to $4.50, Howard said.
The major U.S. tobacco manufacturers are putting more emphasis on smokeless products, such as snuff and snus, to gain market share and sales as the smoking rate among adults continues to decline
Smokeless products are drawing support from some anti-smoking groups as a less hazardous way to consume tobacco. Those groups, as well as Reynolds, want any proposed Federal Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products to allow for the marketing of smokeless products as reduced risk when compared with cigarettes.
"Snus makes up about 1 percent of smokeless-tobacco sales, so clearly it has a ways to go before having an impact," said Bill Godshall, the executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania. "It will be interesting to see how Camel Snus does nationally because most smokeless tobacco users live in the South, Appalachia and cowboy country in the Rockies."
Other anti-smoking activists oppose marketing smokeless tobacco under cigarettes' brand names.
"The introduction of new tobacco products like Camel Snus underscores the need for Congress to grant the FDA authority over all tobacco products," said Joel Spivak, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Smokers concerned about their health should not be fooled by these new products."
Reynolds must push hard with its marketing plans for Camel Snus for it to gain meaningful market share, said Stephen Pope, the chief global-market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald Europe.
Howard said that Reynolds plans to run major print advertising for Camel Snus in 2009. It will refrain from any print advertising for its cigarette brands for a second consecutive year.
"The Camel brand has to be exercised to the hilt, exploit every edge one has," Pope said.
"Traction for any specific brand will be hard to see in a meaningful way before at least three years."
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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