With coverage in the evening news guaranteed Dr. Kessler exited 

 the stage. Since then, the subcommittee has learned that nicotine 

 is actually lost in the manufacturing process and that cigarettes 

 that are sold contain less nicotine than is found in the raw tobacco 

 used in its manufacture. 



We also learned that the nicotine yield in the average cigarette 

 today is one-third what it was in the early 1950's. Although the av- 

 erage nicotine yield fell by two-thirds over the last 40 years, Dr. 

 Kessler is now accusing the cigarette manufacturers of adding nico- 

 tine to their cigarettes in order to keep smokers "hooked." 



No matter. On to the next hearing. Today we will hear more 

 from Dr. Kessler on the subject of tobacco. We will hear about the 

 Brazilian tobacco and chemical analogs, and based on the turn out 

 today, it will make the nightly news. 



Where does that leave us? For those of us who insist on basing 

 policy on facts and reasons, this hearing will leave us cold. Much 

 like the street sweepers after a parade, long after the cameras are 

 gone, we will have to sift through testimony to separate the facts. 



Mr. Waxman. Mr. Synar. 



Mr. Synar. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



First of all, let me thank you for this very important and timely 

 hearing and also welcome back Dr. Kessler. The testimony we are 

 about to hear today is beyond fascinating. It is going to add to my 

 disbelief, as well as my colleagues, about the tobacco company's un- 

 willingness to allow public access to the truth. 



The CEO's of the seven largest tobacco companies stood in this 

 very room and swore that their companies did not manipulate nico- 

 tine levels in cigarettes. Today, the FDA will tell us that in fact 

 Brown & Williamson, whose CEO took an oath before this sub- 

 committee, developed a genetically altered tobacco plant and used 

 that tobacco in a blend to manipulate and maintain relatively high 

 levels of nicotine in cigarettes. 



The FDA will also tell us today that they found that Brown & 

 Williamson adds some of the compounds on the list of 599 chemi- 

 cals to the domestic cigarettes to increase their nicotine potency 

 levels. Other tobacco companies have refused altogether to tell the 

 FDA why they use chemical additives in their cigarettes. 



America and the consumers of this country remain in the dark 

 as to how the other nearly 600 chemicals in cigarettes interact with 

 tobacco and with each other when they are lit. I lament that it is 

 the government instead of the tobacco industry that has to inform 

 the public of the dangers of these cigarettes, but I laud the courage 

 of Dr. Kessler and other health officials who have not cowered in 

 the face of the tobacco industry's power and influence. 



This is an important hearing and I am glad to be here today. 



Mr. Waxman. Mr. Wyden. 



Mr. Wyden. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Let me join my colleague, Mike Synar, in commending Dr. 

 Kessler again for an excellent job. We are going to hear another 

 chapter of the tobacco industry's hidden history this morning. 



In the prepared testimony I have read, it is clear from Dr. 

 Kessler's standpoint that one major manufacturer. Brown & 

 Williamson, bankrolled the development of a high nicotine tobacco 

 plant in Brazil. Later, that specialty tobacco which was far more 



