Lorillard, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. The company offers 44 different product offerings under the Newport, Kent, True, Maverick, Old Gold, and Max brands. It sells its products primarily to wholesale distributors, who in turn service the retail outlets, chain store organizations, and government agencies, including the U.S. Armed Forces. The company was founded in 1760 and is based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE:LO) operates independently of Loews Corp. as of June 10, 2008.

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.

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.

Nat Sherman makes and sells premium cigars, cigarettes, pipes, tobacco, and smoking accessories (ashtrays, cigar cutters and cases, humidors, lighters) throughout the US and in more than 40 countries worldwide. Exclusive brands include Fantasia (cigarettes), Maduro, Metropolitan, and Gotham (cigars). Run by the third-generation of the Sherman family, Joel Sherman (company president) and his son Bill (EVP), the firm operates a showroom on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in New York City and manufactures its products in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company was founded in the 1930s by its namesake, the tobacconist Nat Sherman.

Atlantic Dominion has built a business on providing convenience to the masses. As part of its distribution arm, the company supplies more than 15,000 products -- including beverages, groceries, snacks, tobacco, and general merchandise -- to retailers across the US. It also services vending machines, providing fixture installation, product ordering, CO� gas and dry ice services, and repair. Customers include convenience stores, supermarkets, drugstores, tobacco merchants, and US military bases. Originally a seller of handmade cigars, Atlantic Dominion was founded by Leroy Davis in 1875. The company remains family owned and is led by Robin Ray, the founder's great-granddaughter.

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.

JR Cigar company that began as a small Manhattan cigar shop is now a leading distributor and retailer of premium cigars. Its retail operations include a few discount outlet stores (all in North Carolina) and a direct-mail catalog operation. Its stores also sell pipe tobacco, tobacco accessories, humidors, lighters, coffee, and other specialty items such as a Montecristo golf club set. Orders also are taken on the company's Web site, which features JR Cigar University. The company hosts auctions on its Web site, as well, at JR Cigar Auction. The online database contains extensive information on cigars -- everything from storing them to lighting them up.

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).

PT Gudang Garam deals in droves of cloves to make fragrant clove cigarettes, called kreteks. Founded in 1958 by the Wonowidjojo family, Gudang Garam blends cloves with tobacco to produce more than 70 billion cigarettes annually. The company owns a 514-acre tobacco complex on eastern Java that includes machine-made and hand-rolled cigarette operations. Gudang Garam is affiliated with other firms involved in banking, investing, and polyester film production. The company's dominance in Indonesia is under fire from Philip Morris International, which acquired rival PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna in 2005. Suryaduta Investama owns about 67% of Gudang Garam.

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.

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