Conwood loves a bear market when it comes to moist snuff and other smokeless tobacco products. It makes the Grizzly, Kodiak, Hawken, and Cougar brands of moist tobacco and is the second-largest maker of smokeless tobacco products in the US. Conwood also makes loose-leaf tobacco (including Morgan's, Levi Garrett, and Taylor's Pride brands), snuff (Garrett and Dental brands), and an assortment of other smokeless tobacco (including twist, moist, and plug). It also makes Captain Black flavored little cigars. Conwood is renaming itself American Snuff in 2010. It was acquired by Reynolds American in 2006 for $3.5 billion. It now generates about 8% of Reynolds American's annual revenue and its sales continue to grow.

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.

Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in the United States and internationally. The company also manufactures machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco; and maintains a portfolio of leveraged and direct finance leases principally in transportation, including aircraft, as well as power generation and manufacturing equipment and facilities. It serves wholesalers and distributors, large retail organizations and chain stores, and the armed services. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

HM Sampoerna is one of the leading tobacco companies in Indonesia. We are the maker of some of the most well-known kretek (clove) cigarette brands such as Sampoerna Hijau, Sampoerna A Mild, and the legendary “King of Kretek” Dji Sam Soe. In fact, on May 18, 2005, when our company was acquired by Philip Morris International, we became part of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies. Today HM Sampoerna distributes Marlboro, the world’s best-selling cigarette brand, in Indonesia.Since our company was established in 1913, by our founder Liem Seeng Tee, our aim has been to offer the best smoking experience to adult smokers in Indonesia. We do this by continually seeking out what our consumers want, and delivering the best products to match their expectations. We are proud of our reputation for quality, innovation and excellence.

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).

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.

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