715 



Mr. Waxman. This article says that nicotine levels can be in- 

 creased through the blending process. Specifically, the article con- 

 cludes, and I quote, "Higher nicotine levels can be achieved by de- 

 creasing oriental and the stem and tobacco sheet and increasing 

 the hurley and upper stock positions of both the flue-cured and the 

 hurley tobacco." 



Mr. Spears, did you write this article? 



Mr. Spears. I believe you're referring to the article that I wrote 

 in 1981, yes. 



Mr. Waxman. That's correct. 



Mr. Spears. Which appeared in the Advances in Tobacco Science 

 symposium of the 35th Tobacco Chemist Conference. Is that cor- 

 rect? 



Mr. Waxman. That's the one I'm referring to. 



Mr. Spears. I wrote that. 



Mr. Waxivian. Do you agree that cigarette makers can adjust the 

 level of nicotine in cigarettes through the process of blending dif- 

 ferent types of tobacco? 



Mr. Spears. Mr. Waxman, I have prepared a statement in view 

 of your press conference yesterday and if you'll permit me, I'd like 

 to present that statement. 



Mr. Waxman. We'll be pleased to 



Mr. Spears. It deals with this subject and a couple of others. It 

 deals with this subject. 



Mr. Waxman. I understand it deals with this subject. We'll be 

 pleased to receive the statement for the record. Is it a lengthy pres- 

 entation? 



Mr. Spears. No, it's not. 



Mr. Waxman. Then, please, go ahead. 



Mr. Spears. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the sub- 

 committee, for the opportunity to speak. I will try to be brief, but 

 I must take this opportunity to clarify some issues that Dr. Kessler 

 introduced at the March 25 hearing and that you, Mr. Chairman, 

 raised at a press conference yesterday. 



I have four specific points that I'd like to address. I stated in my 

 earlier testimony that nicotine follows tar and used the latest FTC 

 tar and nicotine yields to prove this point. The correlation coeffi- 

 cient between tar and smoke nicotine data for all commercial 

 brands measured was 0.975. That has not changed and I have not 

 heard any challenge to it. This, of course, includes ultra-low tar 

 brands. 



I also showed the changes in the sales weighted tar and nicotine 

 values of the commercial brands from the 1950's to 1990. Reduc- 

 tions in tar were followed by reductions in nicotine of similar per- 

 centages. Dr. Kessler showed charts at the March 25 hearing indi- 

 cating that sales weighted smoke nicotine has been increasing 

 since 1982 and that tar has undergone little or no change. 



My staff cannot duplicate the data used to construct Dr. Kessler's 

 charts and I stand by my prior charts and testimony on this sub- 

 ject. Smoke nicotine follows tar to a very high degree among the 

 commercial brands. 



Second point, nicotine concentration in tobacco should not be con- 

 fused with nicotine smoke yields as measured by the FTC method. 

 Ultra-low tar cigarettes are also ultra-low smoke nicotine ciga- 



