Altadis Pyrenees Mountains may divide France and Spain, but Altadis unites the countries for a smoke. Born of the 1999 merger of Spain's Tabacalera and France's Societe Nationale d'Exploitation Industrielle des Tabacs et Allumettes (Seita), Altadis is one of the world's largest tobacco firms. Altadis brands include Ducados, Fortuna, Gauloises, and Gitanes. Its cigar operation (the top worldwide) produces Antonio y Cl opatra, Farias, Hav-A-Tampa, and Montecristo and controls a quarter of the world's cigar market (mostly from its Altadis USA unit).

Judging by its logo Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company sells what may be the closest thing to a peace pipe. Packs of its Natural American Spirit additive-free cigarettes, adorned with an American Indian smoking the ceremonial pipe, are sold in Canada, Europe, Japan, and the US. The tobacco-product manufacturer sells as many as 10 types of the branded cigarettes, including the imported Dunhill brand. Though the company sells additive-free smokes, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company doesn't claim they are any safer to use than the typical cigarette. Founded in 1982, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings (now Reynolds American) bought the company in 2002 for $340 million. President and CEO Nicholas Bumbacco joined in 2009.

Rothmans company owns 60% of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH). RBH, Canada's #2 tobacco firm (Imperial Tobacco Canada is #1), makes and distributes cigarettes and roll- your-own tobaccos under top brands Craven "A" and Rothmans, as well as Belvedere, Benson and Hedges, Dunhill (licensed), Mark Ten, Number 7 (its best seller), and Viscount. RBH also distributes cut tobacco, mini-cigars, and pipe tobacco (Captain Black). Rothmans controls about a third of the Canadian tobacco product market. Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired Rothmans for about $2 billion in 2008.

PT Gudang Garam deals in droves of cloves to make fragrant clove cigarettes, called kreteks. Founded in 1958 by the Wonowidjojo family, Gudang Garam blends cloves with tobacco to produce more than 70 billion cigarettes annually. The company owns a 514-acre tobacco complex on eastern Java that includes machine-made and hand-rolled cigarette operations. Gudang Garam is affiliated with other firms involved in banking, investing, and polyester film production. The company's dominance in Indonesia is under fire from Philip Morris International, which acquired rival PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna in 2005. Suryaduta Investama owns about 67% of Gudang Garam.

British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) wants to smoke the competition by having its customers light up and keep the flame burning. The company makes and markets more than 27 brands, including local industry leaders Peter Stuyvesant and Lucky Strike. BATSA also buys more than 60% of all locally grown tobacco. In South Africa, the company is a smoking superstar, accounting for some 65% of the country's market share (which consists of nearly a quarter of the nation's adult population). BATSA was established in 1904 as United Tobacco Company. The company's current incarnation is a result of a combination of parent BAT and Rothmans International.

British American Tobacco p.l.c., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of tobacco products. The company offers cigars and cigarettes under the Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Vogue, Viceroy, Rothmans, Kool, Benson & Hedges, State Express 555, Peter Stuyvesant, and John Player Gold Leaf brand names. It also sells Swedish-style snus, a form of smokeless tobacco. The company has operations in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and America-Pacific. British American Tobacco p.l.c. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

British American Tobacco Vietnam promotes tobacco crop production through a joint venture with Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation (Vinataba). Additionally, it operates a manufacturing facility capable of producing 17,000 tons of cut rag per year; is licensed to distribute State Express 555 and Dunhill brand cigarettes; and manufactures such brands as Craven A, White Horse, Virginia Gold, Everest, and Seven Diamonds. Established in 1994, it operates offices in Can Thoin, Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City. It is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p.l.c.

Nat Sherman makes and sells premium cigars, cigarettes, pipes, tobacco, and smoking accessories (ashtrays, cigar cutters and cases, humidors, lighters) throughout the US and in more than 40 countries worldwide. Exclusive brands include Fantasia (cigarettes), Maduro, Metropolitan, and Gotham (cigars). Run by the third-generation of the Sherman family, Joel Sherman (company president) and his son Bill (EVP), the firm operates a showroom on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in New York City and manufactures its products in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company was founded in the 1930s by its namesake, the tobacconist Nat Sherman.

S&M counts two things -- cigarettes and racing -- among its favorites. S&M Brands makes and markets cigarettes under the Bailey's Cigarettes brand name, as well as under the Freedom of Choice label. CEO Malcolm (Mac) Bailey and his son Steven established the company in 1994. The "S&M" in the corporate name stands for "Steve and Mac." Bailey's Cigarettes are sold throughout the Southeastern US in Alabama, Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. S&M is a closely held, family-run company that boasts fifth-generation tobacco growers. The firm sponsors a NASCAR racing team to promote its brand.

Zippo's refillable lighters (which come with a lifetime guarantee) are sold in more than 120 countries. Zippo also owns W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery (pocketknives) and makes key holders, money clips, pocket flashlights, tape measures, and writing instruments. George Blaisdell founded Zippo in 1932 after watching a friend try to light a cigarette in the wind. His daughters, Harriet Wick and Sarah Dorn (and her sons, George and Paul Duke), own Zippo. Thousands of collectors converge on Bradford, Pennsylvania, for the company's biennial swap meet.

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