Reports have recently surfaced that Reynolds American - the second largest tobacco company, manufacturer of Camel, Kool and Winston - is taking part in talks to purchase Niconovum.
Niconovum is a company that produces nicotine gum and nicotine replacement products, helping smokers stay off cigarettes. The company is based in Sweden and was founded by Karl Olov Fagerstrom, who is hailed as "one of the world's leading experts on smoking cessation and nicotine dependence."
Harvard School of Public Health professor Gregory Conolly researches tobacco products and is totally shocked by this report. He says that this type of purchase of the company "runs totally counter to the mission statement of (Reynolds American subsidiary) R.J. Reynolds."
All commentary on the R.J. Reynolds purchase was declined by the company, the spokeswoman said, "We have a longstanding policy of not commenting on stories based on rumors or speculation."
[Via: ABC News]
