Tobacco company Philip Morris is slapping its well-known Marlboro brand name on a new, non-cigarette product, the Wall Street Journal reported June 9.

The new Marlboro smokeless-tobacco product will be a form of "snus" -- small bags of powdered tobacco designed to be placed between the cheek and gum. Snus is popular in Sweden; Philip Morris will test-market its version in Texas starting later this summer; possible marketing slogans include "flavor anytime" and "not cigs, not dip, new snus."

Some analysts say it's risky for the tobacco company to be putting its Marlboro brand on an unproved product. The company sees snus as an alternative to smoking that can be used indoors without the smoke of cigarettes or the mess associated with chewing tobacco.

Philip Morris' first snus product, Taboka, is already on the market. Rival R.J. Reynolds has become the second-biggest company in the smokeless tobacco market and uses its Camel brand to sell cigarette alternatives.

While cigarette sales in the U.S. have declined, smokeless-tobacco sales risen 3-4 percent annually in recent years.

"While I would say a large-scale switch from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco isn't going to happen, it's certainly true that some smokers have switched," said industry analyst Michael Schaefer of Euromonitor.