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"hooked." More ironic still. Dr. Kessler's letter accusing cigarette manufacturers of this 

 practice came in response to petitions filed by antismoking groups alleging that the 

 manufacturers have been reducing "tar" and nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to 

 mollify the health concerns of smokers! The manufacturers clearly are damned if they 

 do and damned if they don't. Dr. Kessler's letter and the antismokers' petitions, 

 however, are equally inconsistent with the facts. ■ 



Despite the attention that Dr. Kessler and others are now calling to the issue 

 of nicotine in cigarettes, the fact is that the cigarette manufacturers have been publicly 

 reporting "tar" and nicotine yields for their advertised brands for over 20 years. The 

 reconstituted tobacco process has been in use for at least 30 years, denatured alcohol 

 has been used for over 40 years and tobacco extracts also have a long and well- 

 documented history of use in the manufacture of tobacco products. 



These processes are not new. They have not been hidden from the government. 

 And they do not add measurable amounts of nicotine to the final product. During all 

 this time, FDA has never suggested that cigarettes should be subject to ongoing 

 regulation as a drug. Yet Dr. Kessler suggests that "the evidence now available" to 

 FDA could support "a different approach." We disagree. Nothing has occurred during 

 this time to warrant a change in FDA's long-standing policy toward tobacco. 



The cigarette manufacturers addressed the issues raised in Dr. Kessler's letter in 

 a recent exchange of correspondence with HHS's Office on Smoking and Health. 

 HHS asked the manufacturers to provide information with respect to whether nicotine 

 is reintroduced or augmented in tobacco during the manufacture of cigarettes and with 



