559 



In the same vein, the manufacturers of alcoholic beverages con- 

 stantly monitor the alcohol content of their products through the 

 fermentation process to precisely control the level of alcohol. In ad- 

 dition, some wines are fortified with added alcohol. Nonetheless, 

 Re5molds Tobacco is not aware of any efforts to regulate wine, beer, 

 or spirits as a drug. And we certainly don't believe that efforts of 

 that type are necessary or desirable. 



Much of the recent controversy surrounding our products is fo- 

 cused on our use of various techniques that help us reduce the tar 

 and nicotine yields of our products. Let me be clear. We could stop 

 using those techniques. We could chop up the tobacco and roll it 

 in paper, but the consequence of doing that would be a return to 

 the 1940's, when the average cigarette yielded 40 milligrams, 2.8 

 milligrams of nicotine. That would increase the tar and nicotine in 

 our cigarettes by 300 to 400 percent, I trust this committee would 

 not endorse such an effort as a matter of public policy, regardless 

 of your personal views about smoking. 



At the last hearing on this subject, some people asked why we 

 don't simply eliminate from our products. Nicotine plays an essen- 

 tial role in the overall smoking experience. It enhances the taste 

 of the smoke and the way it feels on the smoker's palate, and it 

 contributes to the overall smoking enjoyment. During the past sev- 

 eral years there have been a wide variety of attempts to convince 

 the American public that cigarettes are addictive, and some public 

 officials have even gone so far as to put cigarettes in the same class 

 as cocaine and heroin. 



You don't need to be a trained scientist to see this isn't true. All 

 you need to do is ask and honestly answer two simple questions. 

 First, would you rather board a plane with a pilot who just smoked 

 a cigarette, one with a pilot who just had a couple of beers, or 

 snorted cocaine, or shot heroin, or popped some pills? 



Second, if cigarettes were addictive, could almost 43 million 

 Americans have quit smoking, almost all of them on their own 

 without any outside help? The answers are obvious, and that is 

 precisely my point. Cigarettes are clearly not in the same class as 

 addictive, mind-altering like heroin and cocaine. 



I agree that for some people cigarette smoking is habit forming 

 in the same way that other pleasurable activities such as watching 

 TV, eating your favorite foods, sometimes overeating your favorite 

 foods, and drinking coffee can be habit forming. And, yes, some 

 smokers find it difficult to quit. 



But there is nothing about cigarette smoking that prevents a per- 

 son from clearly thinking and making reasoned decisions, including 

 the decision to quit. The allegation that smoking cigarettes is ad- 

 dictive is part of a growing and disturbing trend that has destroyed 

 the meaning of the term by characterizing virtually any enjoyable 

 activity whether it is eating sweets, drinking coffee, playing video 

 games, or watching TV. This defies common sense. 



Now, let's go to the real issue, prohibition. The anti-smoking in- 

 dustry is committed to achieving what essentially amounts to pro- 

 hibition. When confronted, they will tell you they don't want prohi- 

 bition, but their actions belie those claims. Regardless of what we 

 in the tobacco industry do, our opponents in the anti-smoking in- 

 dustry cry "Foul." We produce high tar cigarettes and they say. 



