361 



The fact is, there are currently almost 43 million American adults who have quit 

 smoking, and almost all of them did so on their own, without any help. According to 

 statistics compiled by the Public Health Service for the National Center for Health 

 Statistics, today there are more former smokers (almost 43 million) in the United States 

 than there are adults who currently smoke cigarettes on a daily basis (41 million). And 

 almost all of them quit without the aid of nicotine substitutes, counseling or other aids. 

 That result would hardly have been achievable if cigarettes were truly addictive, or if they 

 even began to approach the addictive nature of such substances as cocaine and heroin. 



Ironically, suggestions that cigarettes are "addictive" also work against 

 government efforts to encourage smokers to quit because by telling smokers that they are 

 "addicted," they provide smokers with an excuse to avoid quitting. As a Scripps Howard 

 columnist who happens to be a former smoker put it earlier this week; 



"By pretending that smokers are helpless addicts, slaves to a tobacco 

 conspiracy, drug addicts unable to control their own actions, the addiction- 

 conspiracy peddlers help make a very simple decision to stop become impossible. 



"There's actually no conspiracy but there's a secret about smoking. 



"To quit, you have to decide you want to quit. 



"Then you quit." 



CLAIM: R.J. REYNOLDS ADDS NICOTINE TO ITS PRODUCTS 



Recent reports have claimed that R J Reynolds increases the level of nicotine in its 

 products during the manufacturing process. That allegation is simply untrue, and the 

 company has sent a letter (copy attached) to FDA Commissioner David Kessler informing 

 him that Reynolds Tobacco does not spike the nicotine level in its products In fact, the 

 company's processes result in a reduction in the amount of nicotine in cigarettes when 

 compared to unprocessed tobacco 



