Global Smokeless Tobacco Market Report: 2012 Edition

Historical evidence and archeological finds suggest that the practice of smoking tobacco by the mankind has been an unbroken tradition since thousands of years. With high pitched industrialization, extreme environmental damage by factors like wars and chemicals, and other human practices, the serious ill effects on health are being experienced by the use of smoking tobacco. Scientific developments have helped in the identification of these health risks, while technological advancements have compelled the society to be rightly aware of the health hazards involved. In the search for solutions, alternatives in the form of smokeless products, which are less harmful, have been developed and are being willingly adopted by the people worldwide.

The major markets for smokeless tobacco products are the US and the Scandinavian region, with the former being the world's largest market in the moist snuff product category, while latter is the leading provider of various snus tobacco varieties. Within Scandinavia, Sweden is the largest market for snus followed by Norway. Though, snus is a traditionally a Swedish product yet its market is fast expanding in regions outside Scandinavia like in the US, Canada, and Vietnam among others.

Reducing consumption of cigarettes due to awareness about health risks is creating space for greater use of smokeless products. Further, the rising incomes of people coupled with growing percentage of people, in the rising population, resorting to the use of smokeless product options is driving the market towards growth. Development of new products like snus made from ecologically grown tobacco and snuff with ultra low carcinogens, with the help of scientific research, is also providing people with new and less harmful alternatives thus strengthening the market for such products. Though less harmful compared to smoking tobacco, health risks do persists with the use of smokeless tobacco products. A debate continues about the threat of these products to public health at large and threat to children who accidently ingest such products.

The competition in the market for smokeless tobacco products is intense with the leading players being Swedish Match, Altria Group, and Reynolds American. Swedish Match is the leading player in the Scandinavian snus market, while Altria Group, Inc. holds the maximum market share in the US's moist snuff market. The factors such as quality, pricing, brand imaging, customer loyalty, and new product introductions, among others determine the competitive positioning of the companies operating in the global smokeless tobacco market.

The report analyzes the global smokeless tobacco industry including its market size and geographical segmentation. The report also analyses the key trends, drivers and challenges of the market. Further, the report highlights the strategies of top smokeless tobacco manufacturers – Swedish Match, Altria and Reynolds American Inc.

By combining SPSS Inc.’s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables and tests.