On The Call: Lorillard CEO Martin Orlowsky

The Associated Press

Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc.'s largest competitors — Altria Group Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. — are ramping up efforts to grab some of the menthol market from Lorillard's leading Newport brand.

Altria, parent company of the nation's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, offers menthol versions of its market-leading Marlboro brand, including a new extension called Marlboro Blend 54. It also has a new L&M Bold product. Reynolds hopes to strengthen Camel's position in the growing category with products such as Camel Crush, which gives smokers the option of giving each cigarette menthol flavor by crushing a capsule in the filter.

The moves come as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee plans to consider claims that products like menthol cigarettes have greater public health impacts, including among children and specific racial and ethnic groups.

In a conference call with analysts Monday regarding his company's third-quarter earnings, Lorillard CEO Martin Orlowsky downplayed the importance of growing competition in the menthol segment.

QUESTION: Have products from Altria and Reynolds like Marlboro Blend 54 and Camel Crush made any real difference to the menthol category as a whole?

RESPONSE: No, and I will say that I don't think Camel Crush is a menthol product to begin with. So I wouldn't attribute any impact or effect from the Camel side. 54, well, obviously is a pure menthol product. As I said earlier, I don't think that it had an appreciable impact in the marketplace.