Philip Morris USA also will market its Marlboro UltraSmooth cigarette - which has a filter that contains carbon - in Atlanta and Tampa, Fla.

State health department officials are concerned Utah consumers may buy into the perception that a carbon-containing filter is somehow more safe, despite the lack of studies to back that idea.

''People will think they can switch to this product and save themselves from health risks, while we would simply encourage people to quit,'' said Lena Dibble, spokeswoman for the health department's tobacco prevention and control program.

The manufacturer has given assurances it will place warning labels on the product that say ''there is no such thing as a safe cigarette, including this one.''

Tobacco watchdogs are also puzzled why the cigarette company would choose Utah, which has the lowest percentage of smokers in the nation.

''It is not a huge surprise they are marketing a new cigarette,'' said Joel Ferre, the tobacco litigation specialist in the Utah Attorney General's office.

''The big surprise is that they are marketing it in Salt Lake City. Maybe they feel if they can sell it here, they can sell it anywhere," he said.

Philip Morris USA spokeswoman Peggy Roberts said she could not say why Salt Lake City was chosen as a test market area because it would reveal marketing strategies to competitors.