He saw an Internet ad for these battery-operated, smokeless cigarettes, and decided to see if they could help him quit.

He has unnerved many rivals in the industry with an ambitious $1 billion program to bring Reynolds's "smokeless" cigarette to market.

"I pay my taxes," he said, lighting another smokeless cigarette to hide his defensiveness.

The tobacco company is still reeling from last year's $150 million failure of its smokeless cigarette, Premier.

The patent is for what appears to be a truly smokeless cigarette.

The smokeless cigarette is the size and shape of a conventional cigarette.

The company began its more open approach in the 1980's, largely to spark interest in Premier, another nearly smokeless cigarette.

The tobacco unit, which has been losing market share, experienced a blow with the failure of Premier, its "smokeless" cigarette.

The company also maintains hopes for Eclipse, the nearly smokeless cigarette that it is now test-marketing.

He lit a smokeless cigarette, took one puff, and threw it into the atomizer.