Reynolds American Overall Sales Rose 2.8%

Reynolds American Inc overall sales rose 2.8 percent to $ 1.93 billion, with all operating divisions reporting increased revenue. However, the revenue gain was offset by the cost of products jumping 34 percent year over year to $930 million. Other expenses were up 37.2 percent to $413 million.

Camel edged back ahead of Pall Mall for third place in cigarette market share at 10 percent to 9.5 percent, respectively. Both cigarette brands gained market share year over year even as their combined shipment volumes barely increased. The brands continue to trail Philip Morris USA's Marlboro and Lorillard Inc.'s Newport brands.

Overall shipments were down 3.8 percent year over year to 14.3 billion cigarette sticks. Reynolds' overall share of the cigarette market rose 0.1 percentage points to 26.7 percent compared with a year ago, including Camel and Pall Mall who have a combined 19.4 percent market share.

Market share for Grizzly was up 1.1 percentage points to an industry-leading 31.5 percent. American Snuff Co.'s overall moist-snuff market share rose 0.8 percentage points to 34.6 percent. Natural American Spirit had a 10.7 percent gain in shipments to 800 million cigarette sticks. It has a 1.5 percent market share.

Reynolds said a portion of the market share gains likely came from a decision by the group that measures market share to put more emphasis on sales from convenience stores and gas stations, where the majority of tobacco products are bought.

Bonnie Herzog, an analyst with Wells Fargo Securities, said she was not concerned about Reynolds missing earnings projections because of the market share growth in its four growth brands." "Reynolds' growth brands appear to be on solid footing," Herzog said. "Santa Fe and Grizzly continue to generate impressive results.

"We remain very optimistic that Cameron will be able to lead Reynolds into its next generation of growth, possibly global." Pope said the jockeying in promotional prices by the top three manufacturers could be in Reynolds' favor at the top end."Customers seeking a specific flavor or cachet are not fickle, flaky or ultra-price sensitive," Pope said.

Reynolds reaffirmed its fiscal 2014 adjusted earnings guidance range of $3.30 to $3.45 a share. Reynolds did not comment about a potential deal with Lorillard Inc., which has been speculated for two months. Reynolds did list among its investment risks the July 30 ending of the 10-year moratorium on British American Tobacco buying more Reynolds stock. BAT owns 42 percent of Reynolds as part of Reynolds' $4.4 billion purchase of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. — then a BAT U.S. subsidiary — that was completed July 30,2004.

Residents divided on smoke ban proposal

Health, choice and rights dominated recent discussions before the City Commission on Mayor Chris Boswell’s proposal to extend the smoking ban to all workplaces, including bars, hotels and private clubs and organizations, such as the Elks Lodge, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

“The current ordinance doesn’t guarantee a 100 percent smoke-free environment,” Boswell told a standing room only crowd of interested persons at Wednesday’s commission meeting that included cancer survivors, friends of people who died of cancer or are suffering from it, a lobbyist from Austin for the American Cancer Society, and the medical community.

The proposed extension would ban not only cheapest cigarettes but also e-cigarettes from the workplace. Youth of the community through an organization called Harlingen Smoke Busters also joined proponents of the smoke-free workplace for all employees. The organization is composed of middle school students. Teens Michael Garza and Joshua Delgado addressed the commission, pointing to the number of people who die from secondhand smoke, encouraging the commission to extend the ban and to educate youth and the community.

Bar owners, smokers, non-smokers and former smokers also attended the meeting, touting a person’s, an organization’s and a business’ right to choose. Amid some concerns, the commission voted for the mayor’s proposal, but a second vote is required. Commissioners expect that city staff will address their concerns before the proposal is presented to the commission for the second vote.

Referring to private organizations, Commissioner Danny Castillo questioned what the implications of the proposal would be when the workers at these organizations are volunteers. Boswell said that the intent is to limit exposure to workers who don’t have a choice of where they work. However, he said, some of the organizations do have employees. “If volunteers, that might make a difference,” he said.

Commissioner Victor Leal also expressed concern about the ban extending to private clubs. He pointed out that the Elks Lodge has a public area where bingos are held. It also has a private area where smoking is allowed and it is a “contained area,” Leal said.

Leal also said that he had received calls from the hotel industry, and pointed out that in Brownsville, hotels are allowed to have 20 percent of their rooms for smokers. Leal, a former smoker, said that more research is needed before the commission can make a decision and suggested that other smoking ordinances be reviewed.

Philip Morris Earnings Preview

On April 17, Philip Morris International will present its 2014 first quarter earnings. Experts do expect data from Philippines, where an increase in indirect taxes implemented in 2013 affected negatively tobacco industry. Experts say that Philip Morris business in European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa was affected by numerous anti-tobacco regulations. Russia is

Lorillard to Release First Quarter 2014 Results on April 24, 2014

Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO), the maker of cheap Kent cigarettes, announced that it will release first quarter 2014 results on Thursday, April 24, 2014.

A conference call for analysts and investors will begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 24, 2014, which will be hosted by Murray S. Kessler, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and David H. Taylor, Executive Vice President, Finance and Planning and Chief Financial Officer. Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing (888) 239-6824 (domestic) or (706) 902-3787 (international). The passcode for this event is: 28927750.

The news release and a live webcast of the conference call will also be available under the Investor Relations section of Lorillard's website. The conference call will be available for replay in its entirety through May 1, 2014. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please visit Lorillard's website at www.lorillard.com or dial (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international) and enter passcode: 28927750.

About Lorillard, Inc.

Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO), through its Lorillard Tobacco Company subsidiary, is the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States.  Founded in 1760, Lorillard is the oldest continuously operating tobacco company in the U.S.  Newport, Lorillard's flagship premium cigarette brand, is the top selling menthol and second largest selling cigarette in the U.S.  In addition to Newport, the Lorillard product line has four additional cigarette brand families marketed under the Kent, True, Maverick and Old Gold brand names.

These five brands include 43 different product offerings which vary in price, taste, flavor, length and packaging.  Lorillard, through its other subsidiaries, is also a leading global electronic cigarette company, marketed under the blu eCigs and SKYCIG brands.  Newport, Kent, True, Maverick, Old Gold, blu eCigs and SKYCIG are the registered trademarks of Lorillard and its subsidiaries.  Lorillard maintains its corporate headquarters and manufactures all of its traditional cigarette products in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Mobile City to Ban Youth from Using Hookah

Young people say that though hookah smoking lounges owners claim they do not permit underage people to enter their establishments, there must be implemented tighter regulations in order to fight smoking among youth. Also the regulations must include e-cigarettes that these days became extremely popular due to a belief that they are safe. The City

Alaska to Expand Smoke-Free Workplace Laws

Last week supporters of Smoke-Free Indoor Workplace bill in Alaska told that it’s time to make smoke-free laws work in the entire state of Alaska. At the beginning of the week the proposed smoke-free law got a hearing with the Senate State Affairs Committee at the Capitol in Juneau. If the law gets approved, it

Kids negatively influenced by tobacco ads online

An increasing number of youngsters exposed to tobacco marketing are being influenced by it, a study reveals.

According to researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, exposure to direct marketing is associated with increased use of tobacco.

"For several years, the emphasis in the tobacco industry has been on direct marketing, especially to young people who are highly price sensitive and who may find coupons, samples and promotions appealing," said lead author Samir Soneji from Dartmouth.

Soneji's team explored whether exposure to tobacco coupons and websites would increase the chances that a young person would start to smoke.

"We found that both direct mail (coupons) and exposure to tobacco websites were associated with increased chances of smoking initiation and current smoking," Soneji added.

Overall, 12 percent of 15-17-year olds and 26 percent of 18-23-year olds were exposed to either form of direct-to-consumer tobacco marketing.

According to the study, some of the internet marketing infiltrates social media which is widely consumed by teens and young adults.

Since younger consumers are more "price sensitive" to the high cost of tobacco products, a web ad offering a coupon could be perceived very favourably.

Teenagers and young adults, who live in a household with a smoker, may face increased exposure to direct marketing in the form of mailed ads and coupons, the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, emphasised.