Reynolds American invests in smokeless tobacco innovation

While the U.S. tobacco market continues to shrink, the CDC estimates that over 42 million adults in the U.S. are smokers. Other estimates claim that there are currently 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, and there are expected to be 1.6 billion smokers worldwide over the next two decades.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, an indirect subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE:RAI), is the second- largest tobacco company in the United States. The company has been holding its own in a shrinking U.S. market for consumer tobacco products, and has focused at least some attention on programs to help prevent youth tobacco use.

The cigarette maker, which produces brands such as Camel and Pall Mall, recently received approval from the Federal Trade Commission to complete a $27.4 billion acquisition of Lorillard Inc., adding the Newport brand to its tobacco portfolio. During the second quarter of 2015, Reynolds American cigarette sales volume rose 5.6 percent at the same time that the overall consumer cigarette market dropped by 0.8 percent. The company’s quarterly performance was enough that the tobacco manufacturer was able to raise its guidance on end-of-year earnings per share by about 10 cents, from $1.83 to $1.90 per share up to $1.90 to $2.00 per share. With the addition of Newport, Reynolds American controls the second-best, third-best and fourth-best selling American cigarettes, Newport, Camel and Pall Mall, respectively.

Innovation has been part of Reynolds American’s answer to the challenges of operating in the American tobacco industry, not the least of which is the massive public relations challenge posed by legitimate health concerns. A corporate presentation on second quarter earnings disseminated by the company noted that Reynolds American is looking to increase its position in e-cigarettes and vapor products through its Vuse brand. The company is also developing products for tobacco harm reduction including its Revo non-combusting tobacco cigarettes and Zonnic nicotine chewing gum. Indeed, if you look at the recently published patent applications, which we cover below, Reynolds American seems to be heavily invested in e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

 The text cluster provided here shows us that the majority of the company’s U.S. patents are focused on smoking articles, tobacco materials and filter elements.

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Patent Applications of Note: E-Cigs and Smokeless Tobacco Products

Looking around at the recently filed patent applications of Reynolds American, it’s clear to see that the company is making a serious R&D commitment to electronic cigarettes, which is a strong area of the company’s innovation pipeline. U.S. Patent Application No. 20150068541, entitled Wick Suitable for Use in an Electronic Smoking Article, would protect a method of forming an aerosol in a smoking article by initiating current flow from an electrical power source within the article to a resistance heating wire formed of a wick with a plurality of individual filaments aligned in a brush-like configuration. This novel wick configuration is intended to enable better control of aerosol composition and delivery in e-cigarettes.

An improved system for sealing aerosol components of e-cigs to prevent their leakage is discussed within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150144145, which is titled Reservoir Housing for an Electronic Smoking Article. The electronic smoking article that would be protected here includes a hollow shell containing one or more reservoir housings, a liquid transport element having an exposed portion within the hollow shell, an aerosol precursor composition in one of the housings and a heating element in communication with the exposed portion of the liquid transport element. The reservoirs utilized in this technological upgrade enable better sealing of aerosol components and the use of more than one aerosol where multiple reservoirs are present.

The better control of aerosol transfers from fabric reservoirs is detailed within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150201674, titled Electronic Smoking Article with Improved Storage of Aerosol Precursor Compositions. The electronic smoking article revealed here is comprised of a housing containing a reservoir which holds an aerosol precursor fluid, the reservoir being made up of a woven or nonwoven fabric with a basis weight of about 120 grams per square meter (gsm) or greater. This style of reservoir is designed to provide an adsorptive material for preventing ambient water vapor from leaking and contacting heater elements.

A mouthpiece designed to provide a more comfortable feel to a user of an electronic cigarette is outlined within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150128968, filed under the title Mouthpiece for Smoking Article. The mouthpiece for a smoking article claimed here is comprised of a portion including a rigid tube having an outer circumference and a tipping wrap including a length which is transversely wrapped around the outer circumference of the mouthpiece portion to form a double layer with more flexibility and less resistance to permanent indentation. This innovation is intended to benefit e-cig users who would like the sensation of holding the smoking article between their teeth without biting rigid metal or ceramic components.

Greater control over the incorporation of natural tobacco flavors in cigarette production can be seen within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150201669, which is titled Process for Producing Flavorants and Related Materials. The technology disclosed here involves a process for producing sensory-positive ester flavorants from a quantity of biomass of a Nicotiana plant by contacting the biomass with a quantity of hexanes to form a mixture, collecting the liquid phase of that mixture, concentrating that liquid to form a concrete, dissolving the concrete in a minimum quantity of alcohol solvent to form a reconstituted liquid, precipitating the reconstituted liquid to form a precipitated wax and an unprecipitated mixture and then contacting the unprecipitated mixture with a quantity of acidified alcohol mixture to form a reactant mixture. The technology is designed to create a cigarette with a more natural tobacco flavor.

Smokeless oral tobacco is again reflected in Reynolds American’s patent applications, as can be seen in U.S. Patent Application No. 20150189910, entitled Fibrous Composite Tobacco-Containing Materials. It would protect a smokeless tobacco product adapted for oral consumption comprised of a tobacco composition and a fibrous structure enclosing at least a portion of the tobacco composition to form a cohesive structure capable of maintaining cohesion when placed in an oral cavity. By keeping the smokeless tobacco components of this product intact during use, this technology improves upon the ease of both dispensing and use of smokeless tobacco.

Finally, we’ll take a closer look at another newly developed smokeless tobacco product for oral cavity use featured within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150101627, filed under the title Smokeless Tobacco Pastille. This would protect a smokeless tobacco pastille configured for insertion into the mouth and containing a tobacco material comprising about 40 percent of the pastille’s dry weight, a natural gum binder comprising about 25 percent of the pastille’s dry weight and a plurality of sugar alcohols which are predominantly isomalt or erythritol. This smokeless tobacco pastille, moldable in the oral cavity, incorporates the use of honeybush, a botanical rich in antioxidants which is known for its health-protective benefits and is being studied for its cancer-protective benefits.