330 



87 - 



Th« tobacco Industry presently Is under no statutory obligation to 

 disclose to the public any of the components of 1t$ cigarette products. 

 As a drug 1t would be incumbent upon the industry to provide the Food and 

 Drug Administration and the public with details of the pharmacological 

 properties of the low tar and low nicotine products as well as the 

 Ingredients. 



While it Is believed that reduction of tar and nicotine will reduce some 

 risks to health there are other properties of the product that present 

 serious health risks and in fact may, due to the Industry's manipulation 

 and alteration of the cigarette product, present Increased risks. 



The tobacco industry 1s suspected of using well over a thousand chemical 

 additives as flavorings and fillers. While a list of many of these 

 additives Is now provided to the Department of HHS, the list is kept 

 confidential. (See, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1335.) No federal agency has any 

 statutory authority to require public disclosure or removal of additives 

 found to be harmful. As the Surgeon General's Report, "The Changing 

 Cigarette* noted In 1961: 



"In ordtr to enhance consumer acceptability flavoring substances 

 are added to cigarettes; it may be that the lower the "tar" 

 yield, the more flavoring additives are used. It is impossible 

 to make an assessment of the risks of these additives, as 

 cigarette manufactures are not required to reveal what additives 

 they use. No agency of the Federal Government currently 

 exercises oversight or regulatory authority in the manufacture 

 of cigarette products. Furthermore, no agency is empowered to 

 require public or confidential disclosure of the additives 

 actually in use by the cigarette manufacturers.' (page 6) 



