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one that is low tar, and one that is ultra low. What surprised 

 us was that the variety advertised as having the lowest yield in 

 fact had the highest concentration of nicotine in the cigarette. 

 (Chart P) 



Second, we formally requested from our colleagues at the 

 Federal Trade Commission summary information derived from their 

 data base on the levels of nicotine in cigarettes. What we found 

 was that since 1982 (the earliest year for which the computer 

 data base is available) , the sales weighted levels of FTC 

 nicotine in cigarettes appear to increase. (Charts Q,R,S, and T) 

 What was equally striking was that when we segmented sales into 

 high tar, low tar, and ultra low tar cigarettes, the nicotine/tar 

 ratio was higher in the ultra low tar group. (Chart U) We would 

 not have expected to see these differences because high tar has 

 usually been associated with high nicotine, .low tar has usually 

 been associated with low nicotine. It has often been said that 

 tar and nicotine travel together in the cigarette smoke. The 

 disparities in the nicotine/tar ratios among these varieties 

 raise the question as to how this can occur. 



III. FDA REGULATION OF NICOTINE IN CIGARETTES 

 The next task facing the FDA is to determine whether 



nicotine-containing cigarettes are "drugs" within the meaning of 



the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 



Our inquiry is necessarily shaped by the definition of 



"drug" in the Act. It is a definition that focuses on "vendor 



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