Cigarettes have come a long way from being a bit of paper rolled around chopped tobacco leaf. Here’s a look at what’s inside — and at what Philip Morris USA researchers are focused on as they delve deep into the science of smoking at their secretive new research and development center in Richmond.

TOBACCO
U.S. cigarettes are blends of these tobaccos. Smokers in Great Britain and Canada prefer 100 percent flue-cured tobacco, like the variety grown in Southside, which is why cigarettes sold there often are labeled “Virginia Cigarettes.”

Types of tobacco
PDF Download the graphic from the newspaper BURLEY: Burley is harsher with more of a nicotine kick. FLUE-CURED: Sometimes called “bright” tobacco, flue-cured is processed by heat in a special barn and has a relatively mild taste. ORIENTAL: Oriental gives U.S.-style cigarettes a more complex flavor.

The Tobacco Industry

Philip Morris International 2nd quarter profit falls

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 9 percent as the stronger dollar shrunk profit earned in other...
Altria Group profit, revenue climb in 2nd quarter
Altria Group profit, revenue climb in 2nd quarter

Even though Americans bought fewer cigarettes in the second quarter, profit rose 9 percent at Altria Group Inc., owner of the nation’s biggest cigarette...
Altria announces departure of UST executive

Altria Group Inc. said on Friday that Murray S. Kessler, chief executive of the smokeless tobacco company UST Inc., will leave the company at the end of...
Possibility grows for FDA regulation

Cigarette companies have long pursued the holy grail of the tobacco industry: a product that is less risky to health and acceptable to consumers.

Special report: Philip Morris research requires constant tests, tweaks
Special report: Philip Morris research requires constant tests, tweaks

Philip Morris wants smokers to try new things—but they’re a tough group to convince. Just this year, Philip Morris pulled the silvery packs...
SPECIAL REPORT: Searching for tobacco’s future
SPECIAL REPORT: Searching for tobacco’s future

As the U.S. market for cigarettes shrinks, the country’s largest manufacturer is toiling away at perfecting its products and developing other ones...
Studying the research

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has online records of patents granted and patent applications at

Program for young scientists is retired

Philip Morris USA pulled research even closer to its vest this year, quietly canceling a multimillion-dollar grant program for young scientists.
Additives in cigarettes

Here’s an ABC of some additives that go into cigarettes — not all at one time — compiled from a list of 599 additives disclosed by tobacco-makers...
Patent work sets Philip Morris apart

Philip Morris is far and away the leader among cigarette companies when it comes to research and development. In the past two years, the company has applied...
New site’s role broadens

Inside Philip Morris USA’s Research & Technology Center in downtown Richmond, the company is doing more than just scientific research.
Tobacco’s future

On Sunday and Monday, Times-Dispatch writers David Ress and John Reid Blackwell examine the future of the tobacco industry that is being explored at the...

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