577 



(and would be smoked by the consumer), he concluded that these brands deviously "cheat" 

 the FTC method. That is not true. First, Reynolds Tobacco uses standard tipping overwrap 

 and has not increased the width because that would reduce puff count and the value to our 

 consumers. But, more importantly, the tipping overwrap simply is not smokeable. No 

 smoker would consciously smoke the overwrap more than once. The tipping paper, because 

 it is not intended to be smoked, imparts a significant off-taste to the cigarette smoke. 



Finally, in his testimony before this Subcommittee, Dr. Kessler used several charts 

 (which have since been widely publicized) to support his contention that the nicotine/tar 

 ratio for the lowest "tar" cigarettes has increased since 1982 on a sales weighted basis. This 

 allegation surprised Reynolds Tobacco as much as it surprised Dr. Kessler. Company 

 scientists immediately tried to duplicate Dr. Kessler's charts, using the identical FTC data 

 and the only publicly-available brand sales data of which this company is aware. Despite 

 applying the same data allegedly employed by Dr. Kessler's staff, our scientists cannot 

 duplicate these findings. In fact, our results show exactly the opposite -- nicotine yields and 

 nicotine/"tar" ratios in the lowest "tar" category decreased slightly between 1982 and 1991 - 

 - the time period covered by Dr. Kessler's charts. We have, in fact, asked FDA staff 

 members to provide its data and complete methodology. We would welcome the 

 opportunity to review the data and methodology used by FDA staff to prepare these charts, 

 so that we would have a full opportunity to understand and review the procedures used and 

 evaluate the conclusions reached. 



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