376 



BROWN & WILLIAMSON „_, . , 



TOBACCO CORPORATION 06lW 



March 23, 1994 



STATEMENT ON NICOTINE IN B&W CIGARETTES 



The only direct source of nicotine in cigarettes manufactured by Brown & 

 Williamson Tobacco Corporation is the tobacco that is used in the cigarettes. In fact, as a 

 result of the processing steps described below, the nicotine content of B&W cigarettes is 

 lower than the nicotine content of the tobacco used to produce them. 



Cigarettes manufactured by B&W contain varying amoimts of reconstituted 

 tobacco, which is produced by first adding water to the tobacco stock, a step that dissolves a 

 number of substances including nicotine. The water solution is then drawn off, which allows 

 the remaining tobacco cellulose to be formed into a sheet. The resulting water solution is 

 subsequently reapplied to the tobacco sheet. Some of the dissolved nicotine as well as other 

 dissolved substances are lost, which results in the reconstituted tobacco containing less nico- 

 tine than the tobacco stock from which the reconstituted tobacco was made. 



Alcohol and certain other tobacco flavors used during the manufacturing pro- 

 cess contain minuscule quantities of nicotine. The alcohol, known as SDA-4, is used as a 

 processing agent and is the only form of alcohol that has been approved for that purpose by 

 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firecums. B&W also uses a few flavors containing a 

 substance that is made from tobacco, which therefore incidentally contains trace amounts of 

 nicotine. But the total indirect contribution of nicotine by alcohol and tobacco flavors is so 

 small that it cannot be detected in the tobacco blend by standard laboratory methodologies and 

 has no effect whatsoever on the nicotine delivery as determined by the Federal Trade Com- 

 mission method. 



The Federal Trade Commission began publishing in the late 1960's information 

 concerning the "tar" and nicotine deliveries of cigarettes, including cigarettes manufactured by 

 B&W. The information was produced by the FTC pursuant to a standardized testing method- 

 ology that the FTC developed in consultation with a number of outside scientists, including 

 scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 1972, the FTC began to require cigarette 

 manufacturers to include FTC "tar" and nicotine figures in cigarette advertisements. 



Over the years, consumer preferences have resulted in a progressive lowering 

 of average "tar" and nicotine deliveries. According to the 1989 Surgeon General's Report, the 

 average nicotine delivery dropped from over 2 milligrams to 0.9 milligrams between 1 957 and 

 1987. That reduction has been accomplished by companies like B&W through tobacco selec- 

 tion and advances in cigarette manufacturing technology, primarily filters and ventilation. 



The filtering and ventilation techniques that are utilized by B&W result in the 

 smoker's receiving only a small fraction of the nicotine contained in the tobacco that was 

 used to produce the cigarette. In addition, because of the steps taken in processing reconsti- 

 tuted tobacco, the nicotine content of the cigarettes produced by B&W is, in turn, lower than 

 the nicotine content of the tobacco from which they are made. 



1500 BROU'N li WILUAMSON TOWER. PC BOX 35090. U3U1SVI1.LE. KY 40232 (5021 568-7000 



