A History of Genetically Engineering Tobacco for Fun and Profit

Crop scientists have been toying with all types of crops for years, but tobacco, which naturally contains nicotine, has undergone several industry-led efforts to change the plant itself to make it more (and less) addictive and carcinogenic.
For now, efforts to reengineer tobacco to reduce nicotine levels have been scientifically successful but commercially disastrous. Vector Tobacco has been trying to introduce cigarettes created from blends of traditional and genetically modified tobacco. Back in 2001, they introduced OMNI cigarettes, which purported to contain lower amounts of carcinogens, and then QUEST low-nicotine cigarettes beginning in 2003. Vector spent $18.9 million dollars on R&D from 2005-2007.
By the company's own admissions, that money has largely gone down the drain. Last year, they discontinued most of their research efforts. The company's annual report to investors highlighted the difficulties the company has had with its products.
The company attributed its failure to a lack of ability to market the product's purported risk mitigation benefits. As it turns out, the advertising slogan, "Now with less cancer!" is less persuasive than one might expect.
The company wrote, "Vector Tobacco was unable to achieve the anticipated breadth of distribution and sales of the OMNI product due, in part, to the lack of success of its advertising and marketing efforts in differentiating OMNI from other conventional cigarettes with consumers through the 'reduced carcinogen' message."