35 



would support the proposition that nicotine is retained in tobacco 

 for addictive purposes? 



Mr. Kessler. Mr. Chairman, I mentioned earlier about self-ad- 

 ministration studies in animals that show that, in fact, nicotine is 

 addictive. Self-administration, as I mentioned, in laboratory ani- 

 mals is a hallmark of a drug that has the potential to addict. 



We have recently learned that a team of industry researchers 

 carried out studies in the 1980's and reached similar conclusions 

 several years before. The results were actually published by other 

 scientists in the late 1980's. We understand that two manuscripts 

 from industry scientists were submitted to a well-respected inde- 

 pendent journal in 1983 and 1986 and accepted for publication. 



The first was entitled, "Nicotine Is a Positive Reinforcer in Rats: 

 Effects of Infusion Dose in Fixed Ratio Size." I will let Dr. 

 Henningfield describe what that means in a second. 



The second was entitled, "Intravenous Nicotine Administration in 

 Rats: Effects of Mecamylamine Hexamethonium and Naloxone." 

 The titles of these studies alone tell you the important criteria in 

 determining that the rats self-administer nicotine; and again that 

 is an important criteria — one of the important criterias in deter- 

 mining whether a substance is addictive. 



Mr. Waxman. Are you saying, in other words, that the tobacco 

 industry sponsored studies of animals that would indicate that nic- 

 otine was addictive to these animals, and that is the way we find 

 out whether anything is addictive? 



Mr. Kessler. It is one of the hallmarks of whether a drug is ad- 

 dictive. 



Mr. Waxman. What happened to these studies? 



Mr. Kessler. We have been told that both manuscripts were 

 withdrawn by the researchers before publication. We have a copy 

 of a letter from an editor of the journal to the researcher acknowl- 

 edging the withdrawal of the second manuscript, and in that letter 

 the editor repeats what he has been told by the researcher, that 

 the manuscript is being withdrawn because the company has is- 

 sued an injunction against publication of this paper. 



Mr. Waxman. In other words, the tobacco industry sponsored 

 studies on their own where they found out that nicotine was ad- 

 dictive; and before the public could know about it, they acted to 

 suppress those studies? 



Mr. Kessler. Again, from the title, it says "Nicotine Is a Positive 

 Reinforcer in Rats." That suggests positive findings that nicotine 

 was self-administered in rats. 



Mr. Waxman. The tobacco industry officials have stated over and 

 over again they don't believe that tobacco is addictive. What you 

 are telling us is that they knew from their own studies that to- 

 bacco — nicotine has an addictive quality, and they tried to suppress 

 that information. 



Mr. Kessler. Mr. Chairman, I am not drawing any conclusions. 

 I am telling you what we have learned about what studies were un- 

 dertaken and what happened to those studies. 



Let me let Dr. Henningfield 



Mr. Waxman. I have a limited period of time. Could you tell us 

 what company sponsored those studies? 



