Cigarette filter broadens tobacco options

Seeking to offer adult consumers more options in the tobacco category, Smokey Mountain Chew is introducing Airio, a pressurized filter that company officials say removes about 66% of the tar and other chemicals from a cigarette.

According to Dave Savoca, president of the Sandy Hook, Conn.-based company, Airio is the world’s smallest cigarette filter, measuring less than a half-inch in size. Using cyclonic action, it is designed to remove chemicals from cigarettes and can help adult consumers with cigarette management or cessation. Airio Micro Filters are a patent-pending design and are shipping from the company’s new manufacturing facility in Coppell, Texas. A 20-filter pack has a suggested retail price of $1.99. Smokey Mountain is offering retailers a 12-pack display — buy 10 packs and get two packs free promotion, Savoca said.

“We are very excited about this product and its potential for us and retailers,” Savoca said. “We think it will bring incremental sales to the tobacco category. There are a lot of consumers who are seeking high-tech vaping alternatives. But there are also a lot of consumers seeking alternatives within the tobacco category itself.”