Altria and Reynolds American also are vying to get FDA approval for cigarette-like products that heat tobacco instead of burning it.

Altria has exclusive rights in the U.S. to sell one such product, iQOS, under a licensing agreement with Philip Morris International, which was spun off as a separate public company in 2008 by Altria to sell Marlboro and other cigarette brands outside the U.S.

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Altria’s investor conference, which was webcast, gave an overview of the company’s business units and growth strategies, as conventional cigarette consumption has been slowly declining.

Executives emphasized the company’s strategy to maintain its market-leading position in conventional tobacco products, while also introducing innovative, non-combustible nicotine products, many of which it hopes to eventually advertise as “modified risk” products under rules set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In July, the FDA acknowledged that a “continuum of risk” exists among different types of nicotine products. The agency also said it was exploring regulating the amount of nicotine in conventional cigarettes, a possible way to get more smokers to switch to non-combustible products.