Philip Morris pulls new high-tech filter cigarettes

Philip Morris USA, the nation’s No. 1 tobacco company, said Monday that it had ended test markets of Marlboro-branded cigarettes that use a high-technology filter to potentially reduce the risk of smoking.

The operating company of Altria Group Inc. said it pulled the plug on Marlboro Ultra Smooth and Marlboro Ultra Light cigarettes, which used an activated carbon filter to deliver nicotine with potentially less exposure to carcinogens than in conventional cigarettes.

Philip Morris said it stopped making new shipments of Marlboro Ultra Smooth to wholesalers April 1. Those cigarettes were being tested in Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Tampa, Fla., for more than three years.

Marlboro Ultra Lights in Phoenix and North Dakota, and Basic Ultra Lights in Washington state also were discontinued, the company said.

“We did see lower consumer acceptance of those products in some of the test markets,” spokesman Bill Phelps said. “These are test markets and they’re designed to help us learn a lot of things. In the case of Ultra Smooth, it was designed to help us understand consumer acceptance of those particular products’ taste and flavor.”

Shares of Richmond, Va.-based Altria rose 12 cents to $20.90.

Philip Morris saw a 4.6% decline in cigarette sales volume last year but said that was estimated to be down 3.6% when adjusted for calendar differences and other factors. The industrywide decline is estimated at 4% in the U.S.

The company has projected that cigarette sales volume will fall 2.5% to 3% in the U.S. over the next few years because of concerns about health, smoking bans and price increases.

In turn, Philip Morris is looking to grow its business in other tobacco categories and reduced-risk products, Phelps said.