570 



tobacco was used to a much greater extent to reduce the weight even more dramatically.^ 

 Thus, as part of the design techniques to achieve lower yields of "tar" and other smoke 

 constituents, the amount of tobacco in cigarettes has been reduced, with the corresponding 

 result that the smoke nicotine has also been reduced dramatically. 



The cigarette design efforts discussed above have been reviewed and commended by 

 govenmient and other scientists. For example, from 1966 through 1978, the National Cancer 

 Institute supported a program to develop a "less hazardous cigarette". This effort involved 

 government, tobacco industry, public health groups, and universities. Reynolds Tobacco and 

 other cigarette manufacturers participated in this program. The NCI program evaluated 

 over 100 different cigarette designs ~ many of which had already been incorporated in 

 commercial cigarettes by the major manufacturers. The results of this program indicated 

 that the general reduction approach as described above was the best approach to respond 

 to the scientific criticisms of cigarettes. Importantly, virtually every design variable that was 

 evaluated by the NCI group had been developed by the United States tobacco industry and 

 utilized in a commercial brand. 



In 1979, scientists involved in the field of smoking and health came together at the 

 Banbury conference. This conference reviewed virtually all work that had been done to 

 modify cigarettes during the previous twenty-five years in response to the smoking and 

 health controversy. All of the papers presented at the Banbury conference were published, 



' This point is especially significant because it addresses Dr. Kessler's "surprise" at 

 finding that, for some brands in the ultra low-"tar" category, the percent nicotine in 

 the tobacco itself might be the same or slightly higher than the percent nicotine in 

 the tobacco used in higher-yield cigarettes. Reducing the amount of tobacco has a 

 major influence on the nicotine yield to the smoker. 



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