Altria's plan to recover from its disastrous $12.8 billion investment in Juul has launched it into a head-to-head battle against the U.S. smokeless tobacco market with Philip Morris International, according to the Financial Times. International is the former sister company it attempted to restructure four years ago.

The owner of the U.S. Marlboro brand unveiled a new line of alternatives to cigarettes, which still account for 90% of its sales, at an investor day on Thursday, and set a goal of doubling revenue from smoke-free products to $5 The goal is to reach 1 billion by 2028.

The portfolio, including On! The new device, oral nicotine pouches and a heated tobacco capsule called Swic, will compete with PMI products Zyn (developed by recently acquired Swedish Match) and IQOS (a heated tobacco stick expected to launch in the US in 2024).

New products accounted for 32.1 percent of PMI's revenue last year.

Altria Chief Executive Billy Gifford said in an interview that he expects PMI to become a stronger competitor than other companies, but added that the company is confident of maintaining its leading position in the U.S. market.

"Will they be slightly better than Swedish Match? Probably. But we're used to competition," he said, citing Altria's strong relationships with retailers and distributors.

Earlier this month, Altria paid $2.75 billion for vaping startup NJOY, its latest bet on the vaping market after losing almost all of its $12.8 billion investment in Juul five years ago. The U.S. group wrote down the value of its 35% stake in Juul to just $250 million before swapping it for intellectual property in some of Juul's heated tobacco prototypes.

Gifford acknowledged that Altria certainly didn't succeed with Juul, blaming its failure on chasing the market rather than listening to consumers. With new products, we will be consumer-led, he said. It will own 100% of NJOY and can improve its distribution, he added.

Chief Financial Officer Sal Mancuso said Altria could offset about half of the $12.5 billion it lost on its Juul investment with future capital gains taxes. Analysts believe that could hasten Altria's sale of its 10 percent stake in AB InBev, the world's largest brewer.

"Our focus is on maximizing the investment for our shareholders over the long run, but Altria will weigh tax considerations as well as other factors, such as the potential use of proceeds from the sale," Mancuso said.

Cigarette alternatives have been slower to develop in the U.S. than in Europe, but Gifford dismissed suggestions that Altria has not been aggressive enough in promoting smoke-free products. Instead, he described it as the result of a slow FDA regulatory process.

The U.S. FDA and regulatory process is far more stringent than elsewhere, he said. This is good for reassuring consumers that decisions are based on science, but we are disappointed by the agency's slow pace of approving smoke-free products, he added.

"We need a clear path to bring these products to market," he argued, and to step up enforcement to prevent the sale of banned nicotine products.

At the same time, he rejected calls for a broader ban. "The ban doesn't work," he said.

The former Philip Morris company changed its name to Altria in 2003 and spun off its international operations into PMI in 2008. The two companies discussed a possible $200 billion merger in 2019, but PMI stock has since outperformed Altria, bringing its equity value to $140 billion on Friday, compared with Altria's $78 billion valuation.

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