US Patent Issued to ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES on July 15 for "Tobacco lozenge" (Virginia, Tennessee Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,016, issued on July 15, was assigned to ALTRIA CLIENT SERVICES LLC (Richmond, Va.).

"Tobacco lozenge" was invented by Feng Gao (Midlothian, Va.), Diane L. Gee (Chesterfield, Va.), Shuzhong Zhuang (Glen Allen, Va.), Phillip M. Hulan (Midlothian, Va.) and William J. Burke (Nashville, Tenn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A tobacco lozenge includes a body configured to be wholly receivable in an oral cavity. The body includes a matrix including a soluble fiber in an amount greater than or equal to 60 weight percent of the body, tobacco plant tissue dispersed in the matrix, and an additive dispersed in the matrix."

The patent was filed o...