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don't believe he used it either, but he did say in so many words 

 that we add nicotine. That is not true. 



We do not add nicotine to cigarettes. There is not a cigarette 

 marketed in the U.S. today by an American manufacturer which 

 contains more nicotine than the nicotine level which occurs natu- 

 rally in leaf tobacco, not one. 



The second point, nicotine levels are a function of tar levels. Over 

 the last 30 years or so, the consumer demand for lighter cigarettes 

 has led the tobacco manufacturers to reduce tar levels in cigarettes, 

 and when they have, the nicotine levels have dropped correspond- 

 ingly. 



The word manipulate suggests something sinister or ulterior. 

 Nicotine levels have been reduced, they have been changed, but not 

 with any sinister motives, but because they have followed the tar 

 levels and the tar levels have been reduced to reflect the taste of 

 American consumers for a lighter cigarette. 



The third point I would like to make is that today the nicotine 

 level in the average cigarette is lower than it has ever been. Be- 

 tween 1954 and 1993, the average nicotine level fell from 2.6 milli- 

 grams to 0.89, a two-thirds decline. 



The next point I want to emphasize, and we have a witness to 

 testify specincalh' to that issue, is that it is irresponsible to equate 

 cigarettes with hard drugs. The suggestion that has been made by 

 some that nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine and other 

 hard drugs trivializes the serious narcotic and other hard drug 

 problems faced by our society and undermines efforts to combat 

 drug use. 



The irony over the latest controversy over nicotine is striking. I 

 will have to admit that we are somewhat at a loss to understand 

 what is supposed to be new and startling about the latest develop- 

 ments. The points I have just made are very specific and are very 

 accurate, that we do not add nicotine, have not added nicotine, we 

 do not manipulate nicotine, nicotine levels have dropped as we 

 have manufactured lighter cigarettes to reflect American taste. 



So the irony of this latest controversy is truly striking when after 

 reducing the average nicotine levels of cigarettes by over two-thirds 

 in the last 40 years, we are now accused of adding nicotine. In fact 

 the original petition that was filed with FDA by the Coalition on 

 Smoking OR Health was based on the theory that we were reduc- 

 ing tar and nicotine in order to make health claims about smoking. 

 Now, it is ironic that they are saying that, anti-smoking petitions 

 are saying that we are adding nicotine. 



The reconstituted tobacco process which has been discussed here 

 this morning and which Dr. Spears will discuss in more detail, has 

 been in use for at least 30 years and it has been mentioned in the 

 literature, including three different Surgeon General reports. There 

 is nothing new about that. This has been known for a long time. 



The next point is that the use of denatured alcohol, and that has 

 been discussed, has been known for a long time and the amount 

 of nicotine in denatured alcohol is minuscule. The fact that it is 

 used doesn't leave any significant addition in the level of nicotine 

 in the manufacture of cigarettes. These processes are not new, have 

 not been hidden from government, they do not add measurable nic- 

 otine to the final product. 



