Citi analyst Adam Spielman noted that Nielsen reported earlier today that cigarette industry volumes fell 11.2% in the four weeks ended May 18, noting that shares of Altria (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI) and Imperial (IMBBY) all fell following the "dire" data. Volumes in MSAi, the industry database that he regards as much more reliable than Nielsen, were down 6.4% in the same period, which Spielman said "is still a very bad figure, but it is a lot, lot better than the Nielsen one." Looking ahead, the analyst said he expects "gradually less bad" volumes in Nielsen in the rest of the year, though he noted that Altria has said it expects industry volumes to fall about 4%-5% this year and he forecasts a decline of about 6%. In late afternoon trading, Altria shares are down 4.5%, British American has declined over 4% and Philip Morris (PM) is down 5%.