Tobacco Company Comparison Essay

The top tier tobacco production companies all specialize in the business of making and selling cigarettes. While there are many different ways the tobacco can be blended, different additives that can be added, and varying levels of technology employed, there is not much difference in how the top tier sources and manufactures their products. (need good citation here) Individual differences in production do exist between companies and will be addressed in each company's section. What follows is the general methods used by the top tier firms.

The top tier companies in tobacco have manufacturing facilities spread throughout the world. They all seek roughly the same tobacco varieties needed for the large variety of brands each member of the top tier produces. Thus, all the major multinational tobacco processing companies seek to be present, directly or indirectly, in the different manufacturing areas around the world in order to get the diversity and quantity of tobacco leaf needed to produce the blends demanded by its customers7.

Roughly 7.6 million metric tons of tobacco were grown in 2011 with the leading producer being China who harvested around 3.2 million

The differences are mostly small variations in the overall process to differentiate their products for specific consumers and markets. Through conditioning, aging, moistening and blending, the manufacturers change, enhance and augment processed tobacco to create the specific recipe they are looking for. Once the recipe is perfected, the tobacco is molded into the final product desired shape and size and combined with finishing packaging such as banana leaves, paper and filter. Cigarette machines are able to manufacture as many as 30 cigarettes per second. The final product is then packaged and is ready for