Philip Morris USA – Marlboro Snus
Philip Morris introduced Marlboro Snus in the Dallas/Fort Worth retail test market area in August 2007 and in the Indianapolis test market area in March 2008. Marlboro Snus came in 4 flavors: Rich, Mild, Mint and Spice. The Marlboro snus brand came packaged in a SlidePak that holds 12 pouches and utilizes something that Philip Morris calls “flavor strip technology”. It was also the lowest nicotine products on the market with 3.5 mg to 2.9 mg of nicotine per pouch. Marlboro Snus was never marketed as pasteurized and was not marketed as a reduced harm tobacco product. It is marketed as a discreet, spit-less oral tobacco product.
In 2009, Philip Morris decided to boldly change the Marlboro Snus packaging to a folded piece of cardboard with blister packs of 6 portions of Marlboro Snus. The retail price dropped to sub-$1.00 with the change in quantity and packaging.
The PMUSA website now not only emphasises that Marlboro Snus is pasteurized, but defines in some detail what pasteurized means to them. They give you a score a nicotine numbers, but they seem to indicate Marlboro Snus now contains about 7.75 mg/pouch of nicotine. Pleasantly surprising as well, full ingredients information are now listed on the PMUSA website for Marlboro Snus. The taste also changed dramatically with the latest product and especially the amount of time the flavor lasts. This is not SlidePak, flavor stripped, Marlboro Snus.
The are not refrigerated since they are packed in vacuum-sealed blister-packs. They don’t mention refrigeration after opening but one would assume that’s because six pouches shouldn’t last you long enough to have to refrigerate them.
Why Marlboro Snus is still only in the two original test markets is a mystery. There is a rumor they have also entered Arizona but it is unconfirmed as of this writing. It may be they’re taking their time in getting the pricing and product tweaked before opening new markets. Whatever the reasons, R.J Reynolds better be keeping an eye on Marlboro Snus……
Give your reviews of the different Marlboro Snus’s in the comments area below:
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