764 



And you may be right. You may think that's for taste, but it also 

 produces a higher nicotine level. Isn't that what's happening in 

 your products? 



Mr. Campbell. No, it isn't, sir, because we compensate. You're 

 talking about milligrams per gram. We compensate in our ultra low 

 tar cigarettes by using reconstituted tobacco and expanded tobacco. 

 So that what the smoker gets is what we told — we say in our FTC 

 advertisements, 0. 1 milligram of nicotine. 



But we basically, as I said, also, in my opening remarks, we do 

 not blend for nicotine. Nicotine is a result. If you would join us, like 

 the FDA experts did, you would find that we actually only ever 

 measure nicotine in two places; one, before the tobacco enters the 

 factory and then 18 months later after it's a finished product. 



Mr. Waxman. Let me just ask you a factual question. Do you use 

 a higher, a richer nicotine tobacco in your low tar cigarette prod- 

 ucts? 



Mr, Campbell. The total — there's only 484 milligrams of tobacco 

 in an Ultima, in a Merit Ultima. There is 680 milligrams of tobacco 

 in a full-fledged Merit. That's how the difference is 



Mr. Waxman. I'm not asking about tobacco. I'm asking about nic- 

 otine concentration. Is there a higher nicotine concentration in that 

 tobacco because of blending? 



Mr. Campbell. Forty percent of the blend in a Merit Ultima has 

 relatively higher alkaloid tobaccos. Then you have 60 percent of a 

 Merit Ultima's blend is expanded and processed tobacco where the 

 nicotine has been reduced. 



So the consumer gets, in the end, 0.1 milligram of nicotine. We 

 design cigarettes according to tar and that's why it's very difficult 

 for all of us to express it as nicotine. We design in the early stages 

 for tar. 



Mr. Waxman. When you look at the concentration itself, which 

 has a higher concentration, the Ultima or the regular? 



Mr. Campbell. That's a weight measurement. Weight measure- 

 ment is not what the smoker gets, sir. 



Mr. Waxman. My question is whether the nicotine concentration 

 is higher? That should be an answer yes or no. 



Mr. Campbell. You are talking about concentration as if it's — 

 this is a — how we design a cigarette is we use a combination of 

 weight and volume. What we're talking about is what the smoker 

 actually gets. 



Mr. Waxman. I'm asking about the concentration of nicotine in 

 the tobacco. You have blended tobacco. I want to know if there's a 

 higher concentration in that tobacco in the Ultima than there 

 would be in the regular cigarette? 



Mr. Campbell. It's there for taste, yes, sir. 



Mr. Waxman. Thank you very much. 



Mr. Bryant. Mr. Chairman, could I have 



Mr. Waxman. Yes. 



Mr. Bryant. Is it the fact that some tobacco leaf has a higher 

 concentration of nicotine than another tobacco leaf? 



Mr. Campbell. Of course, yes. 



Mr. Bryant. Do you, when you are making cigarettes, ever 

 choose a tobacco leaf with a higher concentration of nicotine on 

 purpose? 



