90 



was removed during the processing of the tobacco, or with the 

 simple goal of maintaining consistency with established FTC 

 yields. The technology may exist to allow the industry to set 

 nicotine levels wherever it want, or, in fact to remove nicotine 

 entirely. With all the apparent advances in technology, why do 

 the nicotine levels found in the vast majority of cigarettes 

 remain at addictive levels? 



Nicotine levels may be dictated in part by marketing 

 strategies and demographics. A blatant example comes from 

 information on the marketing of smokeless tobacco. There is 

 evidence that smokeless tobacco products with lower amounts of 

 nicotine are marketed as "starter" products for new users, and 

 that advertising is used to encourage users to "graduate" to 

 products with higher levels of nicotine. (Chart L) The evidence 

 was developed in lawsuits brought against one manufacturer of 

 smokeless tobacco. 



The tobacco industry may tell you that nicotine is important 

 in cigarettes solely for "flavor." There is a great deal of 

 information that suggests otherwise. Some of the patents 

 specifically distinguish nicotine from f lavorants^^. An RJR 

 book on flavoring tobacco, while listing around a thousand 

 flavorants, fails to list nicotine as a flavoring agent". Even 

 research scientists from the same company acknowledge that the 

 nicotine in cigarettes provides pharmacological and psychological 

 effects to smokers in addition to any mere sensory effects^'. 



Moreover, the available information shows that the industry 



19 



