U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company

Last updated
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company
Formerly
Company type Subsidiary
ISIN US02209S1033
Industry Tobacco
Founded1822;202 years ago (1822) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
FounderGeorge Weyman
Headquarters
Richmond, Virginia
,
U.S.
Areas served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Michael Brace (CEO)
  • Greg Shiflett (VP)
Products Snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, and snus
Brands Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal and Husky
Parent Altria Group
Website www.ussmokeless.com/en
Footnotes /references
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (formerly United States Tobacco Company) is an American company that manufactures smokeless tobacco products, notably dipping tobacco, as well as chewing tobacco, snus, and dry snuff. The company is a subsidiary of Altria.

Contents

Its corporate headquarters are located in Richmond, Virginia, and it maintains factories in Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee, [1] Franklin Park, Illinois, and Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

A can of Copenhagen Wintergreen Long Cut Dipping Tobacco Theo Cope 121610.jpg
A can of Copenhagen Wintergreen Long Cut Dipping Tobacco

Copenhagen and Skoal are the company's best selling brands, and each represents more than $1 billion per year in retail sales. It also sells similar products under the brand names Red Seal and Husky. It also produced Rooster until 2009, when Philip Morris decided to discontinue it. The company also produces several varieties of dry snuff. [2]

Skoal was one of the first moist tobacco manufacturers to offer dipping tobacco in pouches. Skoal Bandits, released in 1983, were marketed in the UK in the 1980s, but the carcinogenic tobacco pouches were banned amid public protest. [3] The product has a small amount of tobacco in a pouch with a thin outer membrane that resembles a tiny tea bag. [4] Skoal Bandits were invented by UST's marketing division, the manufacturing process was conceived by Gene Paules of UST, and the process was automated by David Westerman of the Automation Center, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. Since then, Skoal has kept the Skoal Bandits products, but has also released regular-sized pouches, as well as snus, and offers pouches under the Copenhagen brand, as well.

Parent company UST was purchased by Altria Group, [5] which now includes Philip Morris USA, [6] John Middleton Company, [7] and US Smokeless Tobacco.

Company history

During the 19th century, chewing tobacco was distributed throughout the United States by George Weyman. Weyman was the inventor of Copenhagen Snuff, [8] and after his death, Weyman & Bros was acquired by the American Tobacco Company. [9] It is today known as the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. [10]

George Weyman was the father of two sons, William and Buckworth. After their father regained control of the tobacco company in the 1860s, he gave it to his two sons, when it was named Weyman & Sons Tobacco. Following their father's death, the brothers officially adopted the name Weyman & Bros Tobacco in the 1870s.

Sources

  1. "U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company". Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. "Our Products & Ingredients". www.ussmokeless.com. U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. Doward, Jamie (19 February 2006). "Smokeless tobacco test on the way". The Observer. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. Hendlin, Yogi H.; Veffer, Jessica R.; Lewis, M. Jane; Ling, Pamela M. (December 2017). "Beyond the brotherhood: Skoal Bandits' role in the evolution of marketing moist smokeless tobacco pouches". Tobacco Induced Diseases. 15 (1): 46. doi: 10.1186/s12971-017-0150-y . PMC   5735793 . PMID   29270101.
  5. "Altria to buy UST for $10.4 billion". Reuters. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  6. "Philip Morris International Reaches Agreement With Altria Group, Inc. to End the Companies' Commercial Relationship Covering IQOS in the U.S. as of April 30, 2024". www.businesswire.com. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  7. "Altria to acquire cigar maker John Middleton". Reuters. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. Sebak, Rick (22 May 2012). "The Right Snuff". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  9. Taylor, Bryan (28 July 2014). "American Tobacco and the Legacy of the Antitrust Laws". Global Financial Data. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. "Home - The Official U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company website". ussmokeless.com. Retrieved October 1, 2016.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altria</span> American tobacco corporation

Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snus</span> Moist tobacco product placed under the upper lip

Snus is a tobacco product, originating from a variant of dry snuff in early 18th-century Sweden. It is placed between the upper lip and gum for extended periods, as a form of sublabial administration. Snus is not fermented. Although used similarly to American dipping tobacco, snus does not typically result in the need for spitting, and, unlike naswar, snus is steam-pasteurized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Match</span> Swedish multinational tobacco company

Swedish Match AB is a Swedish multinational tobacco company headquartered in Stockholm. The company manufactures snus, nicotine pouches, moist snuff, tobacco- and nicotine-free pouch products, chewing tobacco, chew bags, tobacco bits, cigars, matches, and lighters, with operations in Sweden, Denmark, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, the Netherlands, and the Philippines. The company's origins can be traced back to 1868, and Ivar Kreuger. Swedish Match has played an important part in Sweden's industrial development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chewing tobacco</span> Type of smokeless tobacco product

Chewing tobacco is a type of smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the cheek and lower gum to draw out its flavor. It consists of coarsely chopped aged tobacco that is flavored and often sweetened; it is not ground fine like dipping tobacco. Unwanted juices are then spat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skoal (tobacco)</span> Brand of smokeless tobacco

Skoal is an American brand of smokeless tobacco. First produced by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) in 1934 as the first wintergreen flavored dipping tobacco, Skoal is considered a high-priced product within the dipping tobacco market. "Skoal" is an Anglicization of skål, a term used often in Scandinavia to announce a toast of friendship, with connotations of well-wishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copenhagen (tobacco)</span> Brand of dipping tobacco

Copenhagen is a brand of dipping tobacco made by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. As with all tobacco products, it is addictive and contains several chemicals that are known carcinogens.

Dipping tobacco is a type of finely ground or shredded, moistened smokeless tobacco product. It is commonly and idiomatically known as "dip". Dipping tobacco is used by placing a pinch, or "dip", of tobacco between the lip and the gum. The act of using it is called dipping. Dip is colloquially called "chaw", "snuff", "rub", or "fresh leaf" among other terms; because of this, it is sometimes confused with other tobacco products—namely nasal/dry snuff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smokeless tobacco</span> Tobacco product used by means other than smoking

Smokeless tobacco is a tobacco product that is used by means other than smoking. Their use involves chewing, sniffing, or placing the product between gum and the cheek or lip. Smokeless tobacco products are produced in various forms, such as chewing tobacco, snuff, snus, and dissolvable tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco products typically contain over 3000 constituents. Smokeless tobacco is widely used in South Asia and this accounts for about 80% of global consumption, as per WHO data. All smokeless tobacco products contain nicotine and are therefore highly addictive. Quitting smokeless tobacco use is as challenging as smoking cessation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UST Inc.</span>

UST Inc. was a holding company, the biggest producer of snuff and chewing tobacco, whose subsidiaries included U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and International Wine & Spirits Ltd., which in turn is a holding company of Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, a vintner of premium wines. On January 6, 2009, UST Inc. was purchased by Altria.

Kodiak is a brand of dipping tobacco manufactured by American Snuff Company, a U.S. smokeless tobacco manufacturer which also produces the Grizzly tobacco and Levi Garrett brands. Introduced in 1980, Kodiak is currently available in three flavors: Wintergreen, Mint , and Straight, each featuring a picture of a Kodiak bear on the top label. Kodiak recently introduced pouches, which hold the moist snuff in a tea-bag like pouch, preventing it from spreading around the mouth and keeping it out of the teeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snuff (tobacco)</span> Smokeless tobacco type

Snuff is a type of smokeless tobacco product made from finely ground or pulverized tobacco leaves. It is snorted or "sniffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering nicotine and a flavored scent to the user. Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made "snuffing" device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Snuff Company</span>

The American Snuff Company, formerly Conwood Sales Company LLC, is a US tobacco manufacturing company that makes a variety of smokeless tobacco products, including dipping tobacco or moist snuff, chewing tobacco in the forms of loose-leaf, plug, and twist, and dry snuff.

Herbal smokeless tobacco is any product that imitates types of smokeless tobacco but does not contain tobacco and nicotine, or may contain nicotine without tobacco. Like herbal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, they are often used as a tobacco cessation aid. Herbal smokeless tobacco use is an alternative to using smokeless tobacco that may help users quit.

Louis Francis Bantle was an American business executive who led UST Inc. and its U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company subsidiary, overseeing a dramatic rise in the popularity of its Copenhagen and Skoal brands of dipping tobacco, as well as introducing versions of its tobacco products such as Skoal Bandits that became popular with young adult males in the United States taking 80% of the country's market for chewing tobacco.

A modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) is a legal designation in the United States for a tobacco product that poses lower health risks to individual users and the population as a whole when compared to existing products on the market such as cigarettes. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad authority to regulate tobacco products; the FDA's power extends to approving or rejecting MRTP applications.

Smokeless tobacco keratosis (STK) is a condition which develops on the oral mucosa in response to smokeless tobacco use. Generally it appears as a white patch, located at the point where the tobacco is held in the mouth. The condition usually disappears once the tobacco habit is stopped. It is associated with slightly increased risk of mouth cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicotine pouch</span> Nicotine product

Nicotine pouches, also called modern oral nicotine products, are white pouches containing nicotine among other ingredients. They do not include tobacco leaf, dust, or stem. The nicotine may either be derived from tobacco plants or may be synthetic. Nicotine pouches are described as either similar to or a tobacco-free version of snus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zyn (nicotine pouches)</span> Nicotine pouch brand

Zyn is a brand of nicotine pouches originating in Sweden. Zyn pouches are designed to be placed between the gum and upper lip and are available in several variants with different nicotine strengths and flavors. Unlike snus, these pouches contain no tobacco.