GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. has begun seeking a successor to Chief Executive Martin L. Orlowsky, whose contract expires next year, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

The maker of Newport menthol cigarettes, based in Greensboro, N.C., told the Securities and Exchange Commission that said its board of directors plans to replace Orlowsky after his contract expires Dec. 31, 2010.

Orlowsky, 67, has served as president and chief executive officer since January 1999 and became chairman of the board in January 2001. The company said it "will weigh all relevant options" as part of the process.

Lorillard, the oldest continuously operating U.S. tobacco company, spun off from Loews Corp. in 2008.