For years tobacco companies have fought with each other more than with regulators. That could be about to change, and Altria in particular needs a game plan.
If Philip Morris International’s $16 billion offer for oral nicotine sachet maker Swedish Match is accepted, American cigarette makers suddenly have a new competitor. Shortly after Marlboro split from co-owner Altria in 2008 to focus on overseas markets, a slowdown in international cigarette volume forced Philip Morris to innovate in smokeless products. Since 2014, the company has built IQOS from scratch — a non-combustible hot-tobacco brand that now generates $9 billion in annual revenue.