802 



rette, the average was a remarkable .97 correlation, meaning 97 

 percent accurate. 



That's pretty darn good. Now, we have seen studies, and this is 

 important for the chairman because I know he's interested in these 

 studies that talk about smoker compensation. At the very lowest 

 level of tar, I believe that there is evidence to suggest that smokers 

 do compensate, that they do, on an ultra-low, lowest yield product, 

 that they do, in general, compensate. But it's very important to un- 

 derstand that even with that compensation, someone smoking a 

 lowest tar level or an ultra-low or lights or full flavor, each one 

 going up, they ingest and intake less nicotine and tar at each level. 



So if I'm smoking a low tar cigarette, could I physically puff it 

 hard enough to get more tar? Yes. But based on the averages, it 

 appears to line up, with some slighter compensation at the low end. 

 I can't state that as a fact, but our review of the literature suggests 

 that. 



So a lowest level smoker still is getting less nicotine, but may be 

 compensating up a little bit from what the published number is. 



Mr. Bliley. Do the rest of you agree with that or do you have 

 any quarrel? Do any of you have any quarrel with that? 



Mr. Campbell. Absolutely not. The FTC, as Jim has indicated, 

 has some significant constraints in terms of individuals, very much 

 like the EPA mileage. However, it's a relative measurement. It's a 

 good measurement from brand to brand. I think that, most impor- 

 tantly, people should realize that we talk about the dilution holes 

 being covered, people smoking closer to the butt and all of these 

 kinds of things. If you tore the filter off completely and smoked it 

 as a plain-end cigarette, the Merit Ultima, which we sell as a 1 

 milligram of nicotine, it would still be a low tar cigarette. 



So it's important to know that, yes, people do smoke in different 

 ways, but as of this time, we haven't yet seen a better relative 

 measurement. 



Mr. Bliley. The FTC, how do they test a cigarette? What do they 

 actually do with a cigarette to test it for nicotine and tar? 



Mr. James Johnston. I can give you a general explanation. I'm 

 sure one of our scientists can give you a better one. But in general, 

 it's inserted in a machine. There is a puff regimen, a puff in 30 sec- 

 onds, then a puff in 30 seconds. The tar and nicotine are registered 

 on a pad and then chemically analyzed to determine the weight of 

 tar and the weight of nicotine on that pad. 



Mr. Bliley. My purpose in asking the question is — then this ma- 

 chine, I assume, puffs at the same rate always. No difference, 

 whatever the cigarette, whether it's an Ultima or whether it's a 

 regular or whatever. 



Mr. James Johnston. It is meant to predict an average that, 

 again, from our very limited research into this, it appears to rep- 

 resent, at least in low tar cigarettes, the average may slightly un- 

 derestimate the ultra-low. 



Mr. Bliley. If they wanted to, they could step it up, from what 

 you appear to have said before or at least what I've gotten out of 

 what you said before, that if they change that rate, instead of one 

 puff every 30 seconds, that they would do three puffs every 30 sec- 

 onds, they would get a different rate. They would get different re- 

 sults. 



