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Over the last several decades, the tobacco industry has grown considerably more consolidated due to a string of notable company mergers and acquisitions, with a particular emphasis on non-combustible products.1 As a result, a handful of multinational corporations maintain a diverse suite of tobacco products under dozens of brand names. For example, Altria—via subsidiaries—is the parent company for top brands including Marlboro cigarettes, Black & Mild cigars, Copenhagen smokeless tobacco and IQOS heated tobacco products. In March 2023, Altria also acquired all products in NJOY’s e-vapour portfolio after a $2.75 billion investment. Meanwhile, British American Tobacco (BAT) and its subsidiaries oversee US operations of Newport and Camel cigarettes, Grizzly smokeless tobacco and Vuse e-cigarettes.
Portfolio diversification across product categories was historically a way for tobacco companies to increase profits, pool resources, leverage relationships with retailers and expand into new consumer markets.1 Today, diversification is particularly critical to minimise profit loss amid a global decline in smoking and tightening cigarette regulations.2 Big Tobacco has heavily invested in the development …
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Contributors DPG took primary responsibility for conceptualisation and writing. OG, JC-S and CDD contributed substantially to writing and critically revising the manuscript.
Funding This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (U54CA229973) and the Office of the Director (DP5OD023064) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.