11/9/2009 - Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI) is in advanced talks to buy Niconovum AB, a Swedish maker of smoking cessation products, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cites Canadian law professor and tobacco expert David Sweanor. Niconovum makes nicotine-replacement therapies such as Zonnic pouch and Zonnic gum. Reynolds' move could be an indicator of a shift in the tobacco industry as it prepares to make money off of the whole cycle of a smoker from the first puff to the last piece of gum. Reynolds and Altria Group (NYSE:MO) both own pharmaceutical companies, but neither have marketed or sold an approved smoking cessation product.

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