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).

British American Tobacco Australasia (BATA) wants its customers in Australia and surrounding regions to smoke 'em if they've got 'em -- and buy some more if they've run out. In Australia, BAT is the market leader with nearly 45% of market share. The company has made the eradication of illegal tobacco as one of its highest priorities. In 2005 BATA ceased production of cigarettes with brand descriptions such as "light" and "mild" in relation to the safety level of the emitted smoke. At around the same time, the company also came out against so-called fire-safe cigarettes that theoretically extinguish themselves if left unattended or are discarded improperly. BATA is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.

Vector Group’s tobacco subsidiaries have a proud history of charting an independent course in the tobacco industry, dating from Liggett’s founding in 1873. In 1996, Liggett became the first tobacco company to settle certain smoking-related litigation. A year later, we led Liggett into its landmark announcement that smoking is addictive and causes cancer and other health ailments. To this day, Liggett – the fifth largest cigarette manufacturer in the U.S. – remains the only major tobacco company to carry “Smoking Is Addictive” warning labels on its cigarette packs and to list ingredients on its cartons. Liggett has a strong collection of discount cigarette brands, which includes Eve, Grand Prix, Pyramid and Liggett Select.Our Vector Tobacco subsidiary is focused on developing reduced risk cigarette products.Vector Group is also involved in the real estate business through its New Valley subsidiary. New Valley owns a 50% ownership interest in Douglas Elliman Realty LLC, which operates the largest residential real estate brokerage company in the New York metropolitan area. New Valley also holds investments in several significant real estate projects in California and New York.

ITC walks with the other giants of the Indian business world -- Tata and Reliance. Primarily, the company makes cigarettes and tobacco, as well as papers and packaging. It manages lines of branded apparel, personal care products, and prepackaged food. ITC also runs hotels and exports agricultural commodities (including rice, wheat, and lentils). The company is India's second-largest exporter of agri-products. Its major brands include India Kings, Insignia, Navy Cut, Scissors, and Gold Flake (cigarettes); Wills Sport and John Players (clothing); Kitchens of India and Aashirvaad (prepackaged food); and Expressions (greeting cards). It is also parent to one of India's leading technology companies, ITC Infotech.

Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken company produces a variety of brands, including Gauloises Blondes, Davidoff, Peter Stuyvesant, R1, and JPS. It sells its cigarettes through affiliated operations in more than 130 countries around the globe. Health-related legal complications have as yet not touched the company, since the majority of its sales come from areas outside those litigious towards cigarette makers. Reemtsma is a subsidiary of the UK's Imperial Tobacco.

Imperial Tobacco Group has traded up to an even bigger throne. Its acquisition of Spain's Altadis in 2008 added the Montecristo and Ducados brands. Its purchase of German tobacco firm Reemtsma (Davidoff and West cigarettes) doubled its size and made it one of the world's top tobacco firms. Imperial's other brands include Lambert & Butler, the UK's #1 cigarette, as well as Castella cigars, and Amphora and St Bruno pipe tobacco. Its Drum brand is the #1 hand-rolling tobacco worldwide, and Rizla is a top cigarette paper. Acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand have assured Imperial's presence in emerging markets.

KT&G's business goes up in a puff of smoke every day. As South Korea's leading cigarette manufacturer, KT&G enjoys about a 70% market dominance and exports its smokes under more than 20 different brand names to the US, China, and Central and Southeast Asia. The firm escaped government control in 2002 and has since added bio and pharmaceutical production, and real estate alongside its core cigarette manufacturing business. KT&G's products are also distributed in Russia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. The firm got its start in 1899 as the Korean imperial household's exclusive supplier of tobacco and ginseng.

Governor's Distributors sells cigars and related tobacco products, as well as grocery items, to retail stores across the US. It also sells tobacco products and accessories, such as humidors, ashtrays, cutters, and torch lighters, to individuals through its Gotham Cigars Web site. The company is owned by the Balani family, who founded the company in 1997.

Tobacco was brought to Europe 500 years ago by Columbus. In other parts of the world it has been known much longer.Tobacco has been used as a medical plant, as well as for rituals and pleasure - and the tobacco plant has been viewed as both the work of the Devil and as God's gift to man.Over centuries tobacco has played a central part in European culture across class barriers, generation gaps and borders. Tobacco has also left its hallmarks on the development of trade, craft and industry.

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.

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