• Promo, Thursday, July 20, 2006 2:45 PM

In an attempt to leverage its assets in an increasingly anti-smoking world, giant cigarette marketer Philip Morris will begin testing a new smokeless tobacco product, reports Promo. The new product, called Taboka, is a more modern version of traditional smokeless tobacco, which requires users to expectorate the product at some point. Taboka comes in a single-serve pouch, which users place between their cheek and gums and dispose of when finished. Each pouch lasts about twice as long as a cigarette. The development of Taboka would leverage Philip Morris' infrastructure--including production, merchandising, and marketing--as smoking increasingly falls out of favor. A number of cities have passed smoking bans on public places, including restaurants and bars. Such a climate could spur smokers to try more socially acceptable tobacco alternatives. The test will begin in Indianapolis and will be supported with direct mail to Indianapolis-area residents in its database. There are no plans for print ads.

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