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Altria is going deeper into the e-cigarette business with plans to roll out its MarkTen brand nationally beginning in the second quarter, the tobacco giant told financial analysts today.

The company, whose brands include Marlboro and Skoal, had been testing the so-called e-vapor cigarettes in Arizona and Indiana under its Nu Mark division. In Arizona, MarkTen has gained distribution at some 1,900 stores and market share of 48% in the segment since its introduction in December, executives told analysts at the annual meeting of the Consumer Analysts Group of New York in Boca Raton, Fla.

But as the marketer rolls out the brand nationally, it will be battling already established e-cigarettes, including Lorillard’s Blu brand, the category leader by sales. Altria Group CEO Marty Barrington stressed that it is “early days in e-vapor” and that “leadership is going to be established over time.” He said consumers are still surveying their choices adding that “we are leaders in every category in which we compete and we have exactly the same aspiration for e-vapor.”

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