Source: The Business Journal

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has launched a new advertising campaign for its smoke-free Camel Snus that’s timed to coincide with a broader New York City smoking ban that goes into effect next week.

The ads include language such as “NYC Smokers enjoy the freedom without the flame” and “NYC smokers rise above the ban,” and are scheduled to appear next week in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other major daily newspapers, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in February signed into a law a wider ban that would prohibit smoking in city parks, beaches, public plazas and boardwalks, and the new ban goes into effect Monday.

Greensboro is another community consider an expansion of its indoor smoking ban to include parks and outdoor recreation facilities. That push is being led by the Cone Health Foundation, and the Greensboro City Commission is in the process of getting feedback from residents. Raleigh adopted a smoking ban in city parks in February that goes into effect this summer, but exempts smokeless tobacco.

Daan Delen, the president and CEO of Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI), the parent company of RJR, has said that the company is ramping up its promotion of its products like Snus, which is a moist powder tobacco, and dissolvable tobacco products. Read an earlier Business Journal interview with Delen here.

This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.