Parliament has been a popular cigarette in Russia since the late 1990s. Unlike in the US, it is super-premium, priced above Marlboro alongside brands like Davidoff and Sobranie.

In 1998, during the financial crisis, we heard in informal talks with PM Russia, that while the majority of Russian smokers traded down to 'local' crap cigarettes to save money, Parliament sales remained steady, and the brand became a symbol of prosperity and wealth.

Like many brands, it is available today in Russia in multiple SKU's of varying strengths and diameters. Many men in Russia/CIS smoke super-slims, for example, and almost all segments boast super-slim variants, with LD at the bottom, and Parliament at or near the top.

It is said that 2012 is going to be a year of big changes in the Russian tobacco industry. Rotating "DG-V" (EU-style) health warnings began last year, and most feel public places restrictions are imminent, as well as massive price hikes (a pack of Marlboro costs about US $2.50 today). WHO tar and nic ceilings (10/0.1) are already in place. Thus, all local factories have been shut or sold. Only the big boys remain after Donskoi Tabak went to Imperial last summer.

Read more: Philip Morris, Swedish Snus, and the Parliament brand in Russia

According to SnusCIA sources, Parliament Snus from Philip Morris International (PMI) is coming to a store near you; if you live in Russia that is.

There are two varieties of Parliament Snus:  Mint Creation and Intense Creation.  While Mint Creation is fairly self-explanatory, we're not sure what the flavor profile for Parliament Intense Creation Snus is exactly.  Aside from some articles on sexual aids, SnusCIA researchers have been unable pinpoint what Intense Creation would taste like.  It is also possible that the name could be the Russian equivalent of Strong/Stark/Sterk indicating a high nicotine snus.

Read more: Parliament Swedish Snus is Here...sort of

V2 Tobacco, Denmark's largest snus manufacturer, announced their new state-of-the-art snus factory came on-line earlier this week. I visited V2 in August 2011 and toured both the original factory and the shell of the new factory. Seeing the new factory in production now is just stunning. Pictures of my August visit to Silkeborg and the pictures of the new V2 snus factory taken this week are all on our SnusCentral Facebook Page under Photos.

The new V2 snus factory measures 2400 sq meters/25,883 sq feet. V2 also bought a larger portion of adjacent land for future expansion. I saw the prototype of one of their new production lines during my trip.

To start with, the new factory has four production lines: 2 by Merz, 1 by Hauni, and 1 loose snus line. Each line is 18 meters long and cost approximately $1.8MM per line. Before the snus makes it's way to the lines, closed system automated grinding and mixing machinery takes the raw tobacco and converts it to snus. All V2 snus continues to be steam pasteurized.

Like the Swedish Match Gothenburg snus factory, from start to finish, everything is automated so human hands never touch the snus or the cans. The only exception is when it it comes to loading the sealed rolls into the master carton. V2 packs the master cartons by hand as a final quality control step.

As outfitted today, the new V2 snus factory has a production capability of around 40MM cans per year.

The first new V2 snuses which will be produced at the new factory are Nordstrommen Brandy Alexander loose snus, Offroad Coffee Supreme portion snus, Thunder Coola ES loose, Thunder Cool Mint ES portion, and Thunder Orange ES portion snus. Production of the existing Thunder, Offroad, and other V2 brands are also on the production schedule.

The new V2 snuses will start being released end of January/early February.

What I'm really interested in discovering is considering the massive upgrade from the original factory, how will the taste and quality of the V2 snus produced in the new factory compare to the old? Will the same snus recipes created on the latest advanced machinery taste the same or even better? Considering consumer feedback on the Thunder Chrome series, will moisture levels be more consistent? Will the occasional can with burst portions become the very, very rare cans with burst portions?

Logically, the answer to all the above will be a resounding 'yes'. When Swedish Match took over production of 1847 snus from PMI and the Rocker factory, The new 1847 taste was all the best of the old version with none of the bitterness PMI 1847 was sometimes criticized for. If Swedish Match had been able to continue using the classic metal 1847 cans, I strongly believe 1847 would never have been de-listed. The switch to plastic cans for production line necessities was just too radical for 1847 users at the time.

I still believe that if 1847 were reintroduced in late 2012 or early 2013, can memories will have faded and a whole new generation of snusers would embrace Philip Morris 1847 as an excellent product.

The original V2 snus factory has been completely emptied. It will be literally blasted into rubble by the Danish government sometime in the very near future. We will have pictures and maybe even video of the demolition when it occurs.

As to my favorite V2 snuses, I can't wait to taste them all over again!

Enjoy your snus!

LARRY WATERS

Swedish Snus Ambassador to the United States
Reporting for SnusCENTRAL.org

Swedish Match today announced the the upcoming release of new General Snus, Goteborg's Rapé Snus, and the first Catch Collection snus for 2012.

On Week 5 (begins 1 Feb) and GR' Kardus will be released.

Åre, Sweden is one of the top ski resorts in the world, named #1 by Condé Nast Traveller in 2008. My only attempt at skiing resulted in chaos, mass panic, and ultimately my smashing into a retaining fence. I'll buy the Goteborg's Rapé Åre Edition to impress folks at the ski lodge while describing my past Olympic Ski medals as I sip brandy while wearing a phony cast on my leg.

The Goteborg's Rapé Kardus Edition is 250 grams of loose Goteborg's Rapé wrapped in the traditional 'letter snus' or 'kardus' style. It will be available for several months.

In the General Snus brand line-up, General Strong Mini White Portion Snus will become available in Week 6 (begins 6 Feb). As the name states, General Strong Mini White will come in cans of 20 half gram white portions arranged in the unique Swedish Match star formation.

Read more: New General Snus, Catch Snus, and Goteborgs Rapé Snus for 2012

Goodbye Thunder Chrome but Coffee Supreme will return

V2 Tobacco announced that effective 28 December 2011, they had stopped producing the Thunder Chrom (Chrome) Long + Portion Snus Limited Edition Snuses.  V2 sources commenting on condition of anonymity since they are not authorized to talk about anything to anyone,  stated lower than projected sales were the primary reason for discontinuing the Chrom Series.  Of the five Thunder Chrome offerings, only Frosted will continue to be produced in a Long + portion.

I believe it wasn't the flavors as much as the nicotine level and perhaps the moisture content of the long + portions themselves which accounted for the weakness in demand.  With no other alternatives, 12mg/portion nicotine was not a popular enough strength by itself to popularize a flavor.

Read more: Thunder Chrome Series Snus Discontinued