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When creating a cigarette for a tar category, we 

 select a particular tobacco blend and flavors to provide 

 "uniqueness" for the product. The most significant 

 parameters for determining tar delivery are the amount 

 of expanded tobacco used, filtration efficiency, and 

 ventilation. 



So, how do we "manipulate" or independently 

 "control" nicotine as our critics charge? The answer is 

 we don^t . We accept the nicotine levels that result 

 from this process. 



As representatives of the FDA learned when, at 

 our invitation, they recently visited our manufacturing 

 center in Richmond, nicotine levels in tobacco are 

 measured at only two points in the manufacturing 

 process — at the stemmery, where tobacco leaves are 

 prepared for processing, and then 18 months later after 

 those leaves have been manufactured into finished 

 cigarettes. Although Philip Morris maintains over 400 

 quality control checkpoints in the manufacturing process 

 — for example, moisture levels, weight, etc. — none 

 measures, reports or analyzes nicotine levels in 

 tobacco. 



