Wellstone Filters announced that it is prosecuting (in layman's terms, making and following up on filings) international patents on its formulations. Even though the cost of prosecuting such filings is high, the size of the international market makes such costs worthwhile in management's opinion. Although cigarette consumption in North America and developed countries continues to decline, the World Health Organization warns that consumption is on the rise in developing countries.

WHO estimates that there are about 1,100 million regular smokers in the world today. About 300 million (200 million males and 100 million females) are in the developed countries, and nearly three times as many (800 million: 700 million males and 100 million females), in developing countries. In developed countries, 41% of men are regular smokers, as are 21% of women. Half the men living in developing countries are smokers, compared with about 8% of women. Although the United States ranks highest with 451 billion cigarettes smoked in 1998, Japan (328 billion), Russia (258 billion) and Indonesia (215 billion) are sizeable markets.